Quote by Nayantara Sahgal: “To be truly free, one must first free one's mind from fear.”

This quote conveys that genuine freedom is an internal state, achieved by overcoming one's own anxieties and apprehensions. It suggests that external liberties are insufficient if the mind remains enslaved by fear, emphasizing that true liberation begins with psychological courage and self-mastery.

Having witnessed various political challenges, Sahgal consistently advocated for individual courage and intellectual freedom as prerequisites for a healthy democracy, writing extensively on the human spirit's ability to overcome fear and oppression.

Indian novelist and political writer, niece of Jawaharlal Nehru, whose fiction and essays have engaged critically with Indian politics, democratic decline, and authoritarianism since independence. She returned her Sahitya Akademi Award in 2015 in protest against rising intolerance in India. Her novel Rich Like Us won the Sinclair Prize in 1986.