Hamid: The Story of My Captivity, Survival and Freedom

In November 2012, Hamid, a 27-year-old Mumbai-based techie, disappeared into thin air. What happened? Where did he go? All his parents knew was that he had gone to Kabul, Afghanistan, to explore a job opportunity. Upon some investigation, they found out that their son had been chatting online with some Pakistani friends, in particular a girl, across the border. Authored by Hamid Ansari and Geeta Mohan, this is the definitive insider account of the man who saw no boundaries when it came to saving a girl from forced marriage under the wani custom. Nothing scared or stopped him; until he was betrayed by his friends in Pakistan. He became embroiled in a whirlwind of allegations made by the Pakistani authorities to break him and label him a spy. What followed were years of suffering during the investigations, along with long periods of solitary confinement and a struggle for survival. In India, his mother, Fauzia Ansari, led a relentless fight, knocking on as many doors as it took, eventually moving three nations, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, to get him back home, with the help of the then external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj. On 18 December 2018, Hamid finally touched India soil again. Gritty, heart-wrenching and moving, this is s story of humanity, love, betrayal and hope against all odds.