The Daily 'The Interview': Arundhati Roy Knows Where America Is Headed
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Aug 30, 2025 
Arundhati Roy, the acclaimed author of 'The God of Small Things,' discusses her new memoir and the deep bond with her late mother, highlighting family dynamics and personal struggles. She shares Mary Roy's inspiring journey as an activist for women's rights in India. The conversation pivots to the alarming parallels between political censorship in India and the U.S., exploring the power of dissenting voices against authoritarianism and the crucial role of intellectual resistance in turbulent times.
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Mother's Legal Fight And School
- Arundhati Roy recounts her mother Mary Roy's public fight for equal inheritance and building a school.
- That legal victory changed inheritance law and shaped Roy's view of her mother's public legacy.
Plane Ride That Cut Deep
- Roy describes a childhood plane trip where her mother mocked and shamed her about weight.
- The incident illustrates how praise and humiliation alternated in their relationship and left lasting scars.
Leaving Home At Sixteen
- Roy left home at 16 for architecture school and largely raised herself thereafter.
- That separation freed her but also generated hostility from her mother as Roy gained independence.
