The pic above is a creation of Satish Acharya, the cartoonist.

Lost in my deep thoughts after reading the last paragraph of Seth Godin’s latest book, The Knot, my train of thought was interrupted by a headline on The Wire; I dismissed it and decided to meditate first.

After a good, deep breath work for half an hour, when I casually moved in to check Twitter — I still prefer to call it Twitter rather than X — I didn’t know I would be witnessing the unfolding of 10th Oct 2026, which can be easily called the Detention Day, which started with a headline about Dhruv Rathee being detained from his house at the wee hours, and no one knew his whereabouts.

I am one among the millions of followers of Dhruv Rathee; learning about his arrest made me anxious. My nephew, a huge fan of his, suddenly went silent when I broke the news to him.

Everyone was concerned, but none knew how to react or what to say.

This is a constant emotional state for a majority of Indian Muslim households, who perhaps are living in complete confusion, not knowing where to draw the line. Before giving a reaction, most of us think several times and perhaps practice restraint rather than giving one.

I was reading in the news that there was a call for a 10th Oct peaceful protest against Gyaneshwar Kumar, the chief election commissioner, and the election scam at a colossal level he has been dutifully carrying out on the orders of his two masters, but little did I know this would result in mayhem that was never heard or seen before; it was, and still is, incomprehensible.

I went back to my household chores; there were piles of laundry to wash, dishes to do, and lunch to cook, and I got lost for the next two hours attending to a lot of pending household work.

Amidst my work, I would steal a minute or so, wash my soiled hands, and click on the X app with my still-wet fingers to check the latest updates, and what was unfolding was nerve-wracking.

I created a collage here from the pictures I gathered from Twitter.

It was both difficult and extremely scary to watch; for a few minutes, I could not believe I was part of the same country, and this was happening in my country by our own police force and on our own fellow citizens, especially women!

And that India is a democratic, secular country

Save that!

The police force was acting on the orders of the elected representatives chosen by the people of India, called the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, the second in command, whose primary responsibility begins with ensuring peace, safety, and security of the citizens of the country, in our very home, India.

And all this for what?

A call for a peaceful protest against the election commissioner and the SIR scam.

During lunch, all throughout, these images were flashing in my mind, and I was thinking: far down in the south, nestled in my house, here I’m having a sumptuous lunch, and then, in between retweeting the news, tweets, images, and videos wherever I felt I needed to share my agony, my anger, and my support for all those on the streets of Delhi being detained.

The helplessness I felt was palpable.

I’m sure each of my fellow citizens across India would have been experiencing a similar upheaval.

As the day ended and I started to retire to bed

Sleep was difficult to come by

I ask myself: what is my role? Constantly stay glued to Twitter and keep retweeting and checking the latest posts?

Or something more?

What curse has befallen our country, and as an Indian, what do I need to be doing?

I also admired the fortitude and resilience of these people who, despite a first-hand experience, have not given up.

I ask myself: I may not be on the streets, but as a citizen, I also cannot just sit, watch, and analyze my emotional upheaval triggered by what was unfolding before my eyes.

My state of mind reminded me of a scene from the movie 1942: A Love Story, the song Pyaar Hua Chupke Se, in which the leading lady, lost in her romantic world, singing and enjoying herself, is interrupted by a procession of the Quit India Movement of 1942.

The way she pauses and watches is perhaps a pivotal moment in the song sequence, suggesting that freedom, Nation, and independence lie beyond our personal needs and identity.

On 10th Oct 2026, watching the detention and the brutal use of force against children, women, and peaceful protesters, I felt like her, lost in my world, being jolted out by the images and videos of Delhi police atrocities against people on the streets fighting for freedom in the mother of democracy called India.

I didn’t know if I had much better to contribute beyond retweeting another image and video.

After my father’s demise, for several years I felt I lost my purpose in life.

Today, I felt the same purposelessness, sad and grief-stricken, seeing my country in this deplorable state.

Is there hope? I don’t know.

But I do want to know from you what we can do as India gets detained.

What can we, as citizens, do when those exercising their democratic rights are detained? How do we move beyond watching, retweeting, and feeling helpless to making a meaningful contribution to our country?

Warmly,

Mehnaz Amjad