There are some figures in our public life who become larger than their words. They begin as writers, but soon turn into symbols. Arundhati Roy is one such figure. For many in India and across the world, she embodies resistance: the novelist who abandoned the comforts of literary celebrity to stand against dams, wars, Hindutva, and imperialism. She has become, in Edward Said’s words, the “conscience of the world”—that rare writer who speaks truth to power when others remain silent.

But conscience is not a permanent possession. It must be renewed by action, and it must survive the temptations of convenience. And this is why Roy’s decision to publish Mother Mary Comes To Me with Penguin must be questioned. Penguin is not innocent. It is a global giant entangled in blood.

This is the publisher that promoted Narendra Modi’s 370: Undoing the Unjust, a celebration of Kashmir’s broken autonomy. It gave a platform to Wasantha Karannagoda, the Sri Lankan navy chief accused of blockading Tamil civilians and overseeing disappearances during the genocide. It has invested in Israeli tech companies whose products help crush Palestinians in Gaza.

So, what does it mean for Roy, the writer who has spoken against Zionism, Hindutva, and state violence, to now sign with this same corporation?

The irony deepens when we recall that in

© Middle East Monitor