The Unbroken

Soni Sori is the India you don’t know exists. She will both shatter you, and redeem your faith.

It was a masterclass in dignity, in resilience, in courage, and in belief in constitutional values – and it came from a woman who would be entitled to feel nothing but rage, anger, betrayal and disillusionment.

But then Soni Sori – who we were honoured to welcome to the Algebra stage on March 15 with a standing ovation – has demonstrated, time and again, that she is nothing short of extraordinary.

The facts of her life place her outside the orbit of our experience, outside of our very imagination. A tribal schoolteacher from the Dantewada district in Chhatisgarh, Soni was caught in the vicious crossfire between the Naxals and the State in 2011, and brutalised in ways that redefine the meaning of the word horror. She has been raped, had her vagina stuffed with stones, been falsely imprisoned – and later exonerated – but rather than be a faceless victim of an invisible war, she fought back, and continues to do so every single day. In an inspiring, heartbreaking conversation with Algebra’s Shoma Chaudhury, she spoke with candour and courage of why she didn’t pick up a gun, of what kept her going in her darkest hours, and why she still has faith in the constitution, even if she has none in the state itself.

When Algebra began, we promised members a collision with worlds you never encounter. Soni’s is that world, and it demands deeper engagement. This piece, back in 2011, is the best place to start, and we’d urge you to read, to think, to share.

Watch the full session above.