Excerpts:Q. What was the genesis of this journey? Why did you go there regardless of everybody advising you in opposition to it? A. Properly, that’s a query I get requested fairly often. Frankly, I by no means considered it that approach as a journalist. Being from a neighbouring nation, I felt it was my ethical obligation to be there when historical past was turning a web page. If not then, when? As I discussed in my e-book, I didn’t wish to sit in Delhi and easily comply with worldwide media. They have been reporting nicely, I’ve nothing in opposition to them, however this was our neighbouring nation. I felt it was my obligation to go. I by no means considered it by way of being a lady or travelling alone. At the moment, I anticipated my picture editor to accompany me, however since he didn’t get a visa, I used to be left with simply my mojo package and myself. 4 years later, I really feel what I did then has stayed with me for a very long time. Had I not gone, I’d have felt incomplete as a reporter protecting overseas coverage and worldwide relations. In my 20–21 years as a journalist, I’ve at all times believed that reporting from the bottom, listening to voices which can be normally unheard, makes all of the distinction. In any other case, you’re solely counting on secondary sources. That was the primary thought, nothing else. And after I landed, I knew I had made the best resolution. Dangerous, sure, however an excellent studying expertise for me. Q. There is a sense that one will get upon studying the e-book that you’ve got been fascinated with Afghanistan for a really very long time. A. Sure, it has at all times appealed to me by way of historical past, so to say. I’ve been a historical past scholar, and I nonetheless imagine I’m one. I’d been studying in regards to the Nice Sport, the Anglo-Afghan Battle—issues that at all times fascinated me. I believe that was additionally one of many most important causes I got here into journalism within the first place. I by no means wished a hard and fast job or fastened hours. I used to be by no means the form of particular person to lock myself in. So, greater than geopolitics, sure, you’re proper—the area itself has at all times fascinated me. Politically right or not, as a journalist you should be all over the place. I had been to Pakistan as nicely, to grasp how that nation operates and thinks, and why tensions exist in the present day. That was additionally one of many causes. And the truth that on this 20-year warfare—the People first wished to oust the Taliban, then to seize Osama bin Laden, and finally handed the nation again to the Taliban—all of it was fairly fascinating from a journalist’s perspective. Q. Your e-book displays a deep understanding of Afghanistan as a spot that has by no means been conquered, the place the land itself reigns supreme. How did your experiences form this attitude? A. Frankly talking, I’ve at all times been an avid reader. I’d been studying about Afghanistan from early on, and whilst a journalist what fascinated me most was our neighbourhood. The tales on this area—Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan—are countless. I used to be in highschool when the Bamiyan Buddhas have been demolished, in the course of the Taliban’s first tenure, after which 9/11. By some means, I’ve at all times discovered myself the place historical past was unfolding. My first job after commencement was with an American agency, and I used to be within the US when 9/11 occurred. We have been in Virginia, about to journey to New York that weekend. I noticed firsthand how 9/11 modified American society. I used to be recent out of faculty, doing job coaching, and was even instructed to not put on Indian clothes as a result of individuals would possibly mistake me for Pakistani. I used to be too younger and naive to totally grasp what was taking place, however I realised how the worldwide geopolitical axis was shifting. Earlier, throughout my closing yr in 1999–2000, the Kargil Battle occurred. A number of months later, I went to Pakistan for a Delhi College scholar alternate to see Indus Valley websites. So sure, the pull of historical past, my curiosity within the area, and the books and journals I learn—all of it led me to Afghanistan, not simply Kabul however past. Q. As a battle reporter, and a lady, how did it really feel with the arrival of the Taliban and their extraordinarily conservative attitudes towards ladies? Do you continue to replicate on these moments, 4 years on? A. Properly, sure, I do. My household jogs my memory typically, particularly my son, who’s now an adolescent. However after I was there, I wasn’t pondering of anything—solely that I needed to report correctly from the bottom, not form tales to suit what the world wished to listen to. For instance, in Mazar-e-Sharif across the Blue Mosque, I spoke with ladies lined and accompanied by husbands or sons. This was 10–11 Aug, simply earlier than the takeover. Many instructed me: “Let the Taliban come. We’ve been dominated by the People for 20 years—what did they provide us? No less than the Taliban are our brothers.” I reported that, and it upset some, together with the Afghan ambassador in India. But it surely wasn’t about supporting the Taliban—it was about reflecting floor voices, even of girls who felt nothing would change, as poverty and inequality already outlined their lives. That was my studying—that there was acceptance too. And as a journalist, I wasn’t pondering, “I’m a lady, I’m alone.” I believed: I’m right here, risking every thing. I’ve to return. I had promised my son, born in Aug, that I’d return earlier than his birthday—and I did. That was my motivation, together with the assist of my household. Most of all, I wished to return with truthful tales that may matter not simply then, however 10 or 20 years later. If anybody desires to grasp what occurred, they might have a look at my e-book—a small file from an Indian lens, as a lady journalist. There could also be hundreds of books, however at the least this one tells the reality from a distinct perspective. Q. When scripting this e-book, how did you determine what to maintain in and what to go away out?A. I used to be not an unbiased journalist then—I used to be representing a media outlet. So I had to bear in mind the political sensitivities again residence. The Indian govt was strongly supportive of the republic and President Ashraf Ghani. In reality, till 14 Aug, after I spoke with Indian officers in each Kabul and Delhi, there was nonetheless a perception that some take care of the Taliban would possibly occur, that energy could be shared, and Kabul wouldn’t fall. However after I landed on 8 Aug, my first video report and story stated clearly that the Taliban was all over the place, and you can really feel the palpable pressure Afghans have been dwelling in. Kabul felt like a bubble of elites dwelling in an echo chamber, unwilling to see what was taking place outdoors. It was apparent the Taliban would take energy inside days. And by 14 Aug, Ghani fled, leaving the nation in collapse. I keep in mind calling my editors on 14 Aug evening, saying we must always run a breaking story that the Taliban would enter Kabul inside three days. However they have been upset. Indian media was speculating on successors to Ghani—names that weren’t sensible. From Kabul, I stored telling them these names wouldn’t maintain, however they wished to run them anyway. So sure, many issues I couldn’t report then, and plenty of issues I overlooked to keep away from placing my organisation in a spot. The e-book gave me area to say what I couldn’t at the moment. And my bigger level is that this: whether or not it’s Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka, we regularly choose conditions primarily based on restricted studies, whereas the fact on the bottom is normally very totally different. Q. It’s virtually as for those who wrote the primary draft in a rush to get it out as you remembered it. However the ardour, urgency, and even moments of hysteria in your writing stay true to your expertise, don’t they? A. Sure, precisely. After a few days in Kabul, I realised my digicam particular person couldn’t make it, so I used to be alone and uncertain after I’d return. My plan was to remain a month and canopy the formal withdrawal of American troops on 31 Aug—like the enduring pictures of Soviet tanks leaving in 1989. However by 10–11 Aug, it was clear nothing like that may occur. The withdrawal was chaotic, hasty, after which bloodshed adopted at Abbey Gate. It appeared like solely the People and the Taliban knew the plan, whereas the world, together with India, was caught unprepared for the collapse. That anxiousness was actual, as a result of I wished to cowl Afghanistan in an enormous approach—one thing like Life or Time journal reportage. As a substitute, I used to be watching issues unravel quick. Nonetheless, I managed an interview with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one thing no Indian journalist had achieved earlier than. I had imagined him as a fearsome determine, “the Butcher of Kabul,” however in particular person he was polished, courteous, and made me really feel relaxed. His studio workforce even lent me lights and cameras since I solely had my mojo package. He answered every thing till the interview needed to be minimize brief—by 15 Aug morning, the Taliban had entered Kabul. So sure, that was the anxiousness—whether or not I’d handle the interviews and tales I had deliberate. My editor had given me assignments, I had my very own checklist too, however occasions stored shifting. That uncertainty and urgency—that’s what comes by within the e-book.
