“There is a vindictiveness to the way they go after people,” Arundhati Roy said in an interview (above) with the BBC, referring to the Indian government. Roy was in conversation with BBC journalist and presenter Evan Davis about her book The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, published last year, as well as her non-fiction writing, the Indian government and PM Modi.

“Has be been as bad as you had feared?” asked Davis about Modi to which Roy responded, “Yes, because today you’re looking at a situation where the Muslim community has been ghettoised, you’re looking at a situation where people are being lynched on the streets.” Stating that anybody who holds views opposed to the government would be stupid not to be worried, Roy said that “the violence in India is terrifying”.

While speaking about her writing and continued activism and that of others despite fears of backlash, Roy said, “No battle would be worth anything if it didn’t come from protecting something that you love.”