(This story was first published on 25 November 2020, and is being republished from The Quint's archives to mark one year since the anti-conversion law in Uttar Pradesh came into effect.)
Paro is running through the fields, trying to get away from a man who has a feud with her family. He catches up with her, abducts her and keeps her in his house. He does not assault her or ill-treat her. In fact, after a day or two, he lets her go and she runs back to her home in the village.
But the news of her abduction by a Muslim man is spread through the village. She keeps banging on the door and begging her parents to let her in. But they refuse. Heartbroken Paro has nowhere to go. Ultimately she returns to her abductor. This is the story of Pinjar – Amritha Pritham’s Punjabi novel set in the times of the Indian freedom struggle and partition. In her writing, she shows that women suffer most at the hands of their own families and traditions.