India, July 21 -- Towards the end of the book, you write, "Whose stories will you believe? For how long will you listen? Tell me why you think you're here, and that will be as true as anything I can say," signalling an interiority that's deeply personal. Could you reflect on the internal conflicts you may have dealt with while writing Brotherless Night?

The part that you quote is from the point of view of Sashi [the narrator]. Throughout the book, she is asking the reader why they're here, which is always a good question. What is the space between writing and action? Often during conversations, people ask me if writing is activism, and I think it isn't because it doesn't actually change anything. It might cause someone to think about cha...