Secular Bharatiya. Follower INDIAN Islam. Publisher. Yoga practitioner. Nature lover. Nehruvian. Concerns: Education, gender issues. Poetry. Cricket not IPL
India
Joined September 2009
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Coorg.
Me: how many kids?
Cab driver Aslam:
1 son, 2 Lakshmis.
Keep trying bigots of all hues, u CANNOT destroy our pluralism #IndiaWillWin
atiya zaidi retweeted
Belonging by @SoniaGandhi released on 10 November 2026.
Across the country, the excitement is extraordinary. We stepped into bookshops to witness it firsthand, and the atmosphere was electric. Readers and booksellers, all caught up in the excitement of a book that has everyone curious.
There is something remarkable about watching a deeply personal story become a national conversation. And even more remarkable when that conversation is about books.
We’ll be sharing more from bookshops across India as the excitement continues.
The story is personal. The moment belongs to the nation. And now, Belonging belongs to its readers.
atiya zaidi retweeted
राजीव और सोनिया जब प्रधानमंत्री निवास की बजाय अलग प्लैट लेकर रहना चाहते थे …
सोनिया गांधी ने अपनी किताब में लिखा है कि
' 1980 में कांग्रेस की जीत के बाद परिवार फिर से सफदरजंग रोड स्थित पुराने सरकारी आवास में लौट आया हालांकि इस बार हम कुछ हिचकिचाहट महसूस कर रहे थे. संजय और राजीव के बीच कई मुद्दों पर मतभेद थे . कुछ मौकों पर उनके बीच तीखी बहस भी हुई थी
यह बहस इस बात को लेकर होती थी कि हालात जिस दिशा में जा रहे थे, वह सही थे या नहीं . हम कुछ समय से महसूस कर रहे थे कि बच्चों के बड़े होने के लिए वहां का माहौल स्वस्थ नहीं था . अब हमारे लिए कुछ फैसला लेने का समय आ गया था. हमने फैसला किया कि हम कहीं एक छोटा सा फ्लैट किराये पर लेंगे ताकि राजनीति से दूर रहकर एक सामान्य जिंदगी जी सकें . राजीव ने अपनी मां से हमारे इस फैसले के बारे में बात की और इसके पीछे की वजहें समझाईं . उन्होंने अपनी मां को भरोसा दिलाया कि हम उनसे बहुत दूर नहीं रहेंगे बल्कि महज कुछ मिनट की दूरी पर रहेंगे . हम और बच्चे उनसे मिलने हर दिन आएंगे . राजीव ने उनसे यह भी कहा कि क्या इससे उन्हें कभी-कभार सफदरजंग रोड से बाहर निकलने और हमारे साथ अधिक सहज माहौल में कुछ समय बिताने का मौका नहीं मिलेगा?वह साफ तौर पर परेशान थीं , उन्होंने राजीव को समझाया . मुझसे भी अलग से बात की . उन्होंने आग्रह किया कि अब हालात बदल चुके हैं . विलिंगडन क्रिसेंट वाले घर में जो तनाव और घेराबंदी जैसा माहौल रहता था वह अब बीते दिनों की बात हो जाएगी .
राजीव और मैंने इस बारे में बार-बार बात की , हम उन्हें दुख नहीं पहुंचाना चाहते थे लेकिन हमारा फैसला स्पष्ट था कि हम खुद और अपने बच्चों को राजनीति में उलझे उन दिनों को दोबारा जीने के लिए मजबूर नहीं करना चाहते थे . मेरी सास ने उस समय वहां आई हुई फोरी नेहरू को बुलाया, ताकि वह हमें अपना फैसला बदलने के लिए समझा सकें . फोरी मौसी ने हमें याद दिलाया कि इतने सालों तक एक परिवार के रूप में साथ रहते हुए हम राजीव की मां के लिए कितना बड़ा सहारा रहे हैं . उन्होंने कहा कि मैं उनके लिए एक बेटी जैसी रही हूं . अगर हम अलग रहने लगे तो उनका दिल टूट जाएगा .
मेरी सास ने कुछ और लोगों की मदद भी ली, जिनके बारे में उन्हें लगता था कि वे हमें अपना फैसला बदलने के लिए प्रभावित कर सकते हैं . आखिरकार काफी बातचीत और सोच-विचार के बाद हम मान गए . मैंने सफदरजंग रोड के पुराने घर में वापस जाने की व्यवस्था की . हम जल्द ही अपने पुराने और परिचित माहौल में लौट आए .'
atiya zaidi retweeted
What a sick, perverted, gutter mind you Sanghis & Andhbhakts have. You all live in a bottomless pit — no bottom, no shame, no humanity.
atiya zaidi retweeted
Food has always had a special place in my story. It was while looking for a good meal that I met Rajiv, and fell in love.
Years later, India came to me the same way, one meal at a time. At first the variety amazed me and the spice scared me. Now dal chawal is the taste of home, and I can't go a day without it.
God’s Own country in more ways than one.
Kerala you have my heart🥹
NO RELIGION, JUST HUMANITY. ❤️
85-year-old Kalyani Amma had no children or close relatives. When she passed away, her Muslim neighbours Rasaq and Sulaiman cared for her and performed her last rites, just as their own mother deserved.
This is the Kerala Story we should celebrate. ❤️
Humanity above everything! 🙏
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atiya zaidi retweeted
It was only yesterday that I learnt that, before Rahul Ji, Sonia Ji and Rajiv Ji had another son, born in early 1969, whom Rajiv Ji and Sanjay Ji buried at their farmhouse in Mehrauli.
In the book, Sonia Ji speaks of him with tenderness:
“Rajiv took me to see him, a tiny, perfectly formed boy, with thick, black hair and long, slim fingers. We fell in love with him immediately.”
She also recounts how Rajiv Ji, despite his stiff-upper-lip upbringing, broke down in tears when the baby died just hours later. She writes, too, of the guilt and depression she experienced in the aftermath.
Leaving politics aside, I wonder how many people can relate to this grief - the grief of a young parent who has lost their child.
Let this book humanise Sonia Ji. Let it extend to her the “privilege” of being seen as human, and not just a politician.
Bhagwat sahab should now express gratitude for the Mughals who introduced fireworks in India😁
‘Firecracker smoke doesn’t cause pollution. It kills insects and purifies the environment! And this is science’
- RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat 🤡@DrMohanBhagwat
No doubt, why RSS and BJP don’t promote education 👏🏻 #Diwali2026 #AQI
A huge loss.
We visited him at Tilonia. A committed, creative and charming person. Looking at the curtains in my room, bought from the delightful little shop in Tilonia♥️
Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sanjit ‘Bunker’ Roy ji.
His remarkable contributions to various social causes and rural empowerment will always be remembered. Through the Barefoot College in Tilonia, he transformed the lives of countless people in rural communities by empowering them, especially women.
My heartfelt condolences to Smt. Aruna Roy ji and the entire family.
May the departed soul find eternal peace.
@nikhilmkss
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“Race did not make me one. Religion did not make me one. But history did.”
@RealRuskinBond on being Indian.
@SoniaGandhi ji is more Indian than many born Indians. History has made her
Just one more day to go!
The excitement is building across the country, with bookstores getting ready to welcome @SoniaGandhi's much-anticipated memoir. At its heart, Belonging is one courageous woman’s story of falling in love with a man and a country, of finding the strength to remake her life and to serve India, the place where she belongs.
@Bahrisons_books @mathrubhumi
atiya zaidi retweeted
Revisiting my early memories of celebrating Diwali - the traditions, the festivities and the little moments that made it so special 🪔✨
Wishing everyone a Happy Diwali
And while the mischievous debate on Khargeji’s remark rages, listen to this. #IndiaForever 🇮🇳
instagram.com/reel/Dfc3HS2zf…
Slow poisoning
#WATCH | Delhi: On the effects of air pollution on diabetes, Dr. Ambrish Mithal, Group Chairman and Head of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Max Healthcare says, "Air pollution affects diabetes in several ways and there are Indian studies that have shown a direct impact of PM 2.5 on the prevalence of diabetes as well as high blood pressure. Even one month exposure to a PM 2.5 can raise your blood sugar and over the years the risk of diabetes can go up by 22%. It's a very important contributor to our diabetes risk and I think we need to understand because India is a diabetes capital of the world. The other thing that happens is that not just diabetes but high blood pressure prevalence also goes up a lot... These particles contain nitrates, sulfates, heavy metals, carbon. Now when these are very tiny, they go into our lungs, they get absorbed into the bloodstream. They damage the arterial walls. So you get more of hypertension and vascular disease. They also reach the pancreas and they have some impact on insulin secretion, exciting inflammation inside the pancreas and also they have an impact on insulin action. So insulin resistance also happens. So in other words, there is a direct vascular impact on the blood vessels..." (04.11)
Father @CedricPrakash a Catholic priest wishing me, Atiya Zaidi, a practising Muslim. This is my India.
We must all persevere to keep our beautiful syncretic culture alive.
Deepawali ki Shubh kamnayen!
Diwali Mubarak!
Wish you a blessed Diwali!
atiya zaidi retweeted
If this extract is anything to go by, the anticipation around the most awaited book of the year is not unjustified.
