The Many Lives of Syeda X
24 April 2025Imprint: Footnote Press
Synopsis
'A trenchant and invaluable people's history of the bottom of the pyramid in the world's most populous nation' Financial Times
What does the life of an ordinary working-class, Muslim woman look and feel like in modern India? Award-winning journalist Neha Dixit traces the story of one such faceless Indian woman, from the early 1990s to the present day. What emerges is a picture of a life lived under constant corrosive tension.
Syeda X left the holy city of Banaras (now Varanasi) for Delhi with her young family in the aftermath of riots and communal violence in the early '90s. In Delhi, she settled into the life of a poor migrant, juggling multiple jobs a day - from sewing soccer balls and removing the stems from raisins, to shelling almonds sold in bulk to multinationals and assisting in illegal abortions. Syeda has held over 50 different jobs in 30 years, earning paltry sums in the process. And if she ever took a day off, her job would be lost to another faceless migrant.
We meet an unforgettable cast of characters: a rickshaw driver in Chandni Chowk who ends up tragically dead in a terrorist blast; a doctor who gets arrested for pre-natal sex determination; a Hindu nationalist 'cow vigilante' whose sister elopes with Syeda's son; and policemen who delight in beating up young Muslim men.
Written with empathy and deep insight, The Many Lives of Syeda X is a portal to a harsh, hidden world. It is the story of untold millions and a searing account of urban life in new India.
What does the life of an ordinary working-class, Muslim woman look and feel like in modern India? Award-winning journalist Neha Dixit traces the story of one such faceless Indian woman, from the early 1990s to the present day. What emerges is a picture of a life lived under constant corrosive tension.
Syeda X left the holy city of Banaras (now Varanasi) for Delhi with her young family in the aftermath of riots and communal violence in the early '90s. In Delhi, she settled into the life of a poor migrant, juggling multiple jobs a day - from sewing soccer balls and removing the stems from raisins, to shelling almonds sold in bulk to multinationals and assisting in illegal abortions. Syeda has held over 50 different jobs in 30 years, earning paltry sums in the process. And if she ever took a day off, her job would be lost to another faceless migrant.
We meet an unforgettable cast of characters: a rickshaw driver in Chandni Chowk who ends up tragically dead in a terrorist blast; a doctor who gets arrested for pre-natal sex determination; a Hindu nationalist 'cow vigilante' whose sister elopes with Syeda's son; and policemen who delight in beating up young Muslim men.
Written with empathy and deep insight, The Many Lives of Syeda X is a portal to a harsh, hidden world. It is the story of untold millions and a searing account of urban life in new India.
Details
24 April 2025320 pages
9781804442272Imprint: Footnote Press
Reviews
'A trenchant and invaluable people's history of the bottom of the pyramid in the world's most populous nation'Financial Times
'Shines a spotlight on the invisible lives of India's neglected female home-based workers'Soutik Biswas, BBC News
'In the climate currently pervading India under Modi's decade-long rule, Dixit's book is a brave and damning indictment of Hindutva fascism that shines a crucial spotlight on the ordinary lives that continue to suffer its horrifying impact. It is also an unapologetically feminist celebration of their daily existence'Jacobin
'By tracing one woman's negotiations with the exigencies of global markets and rising socio-political strife in the country, it casts light on the lives of those who serve as the backbone of our economy and yet remain among the most marginalised and vulnerable groups in modern India - migrants, especially women urban migrants'Scroll