A 34-year-old married Indian woman named Anju travelled to Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to meet her 29-year-old Facebook friend, Nasrulla, whom she had befriended and for whom she developed romantic feelings, police said on Sunday (23).
Anju, who hails from Kailor village in Uttar Pradesh and resides in Alwar district of Rajasthan, is presently in the Upper Dir district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to meet her friend Nasrulla.
According to a report by ARY News, Nasrullah, who is employed in the medical field, and Anju became friends on the social media platform Facebook a few months ago.
Anju is currently visiting Pakistan for a month, and it has been clarified that she did not come with the intention of getting married to Nasrullah.
Initially, the Indian woman was in the custody of the police, but after verifying her travel documents, she was subsequently released by the district police.
"She was allowed to go after all the travel documents were found to be in order. They were provided security to ensure no untoward incident takes place and which can bring a bad name to the country," a source told PTI.
An officer at Dir police station said Anju and her friend were released after her documents were cleared by senior police officer Mushtaq Khab and Scouts Major.
A team of Rajasthan police reached the home of Anju in Bhiwadi to enquire about her after media reports. Her husband Arvind told police that she left the home on Thursday (20) on the pretext of going to Jaipur but later the family came to know that she was in Pakistan.
“Anju's husband said that she left home on Thursday. She had a valid passport,” Assistant Superintendent of Police Bhiwadi Sujit Shankar told PTI.
He said that the family has not given any complaint regarding the matter.
The couple work in private firms in Bhiwadi and has a 15-year-old girl and a six-year-old son.
Arvind told the media at his home that his wife Anju told her sister that she was in Lahore and later he spoke to her on a WhatsApp call.
He said he will talk to her and will ask her to return, asserting that he was hopeful that she would return home.
He said her passport was issued in 2020 as she wanted to apply for a job abroad.
Arvind said he had no idea that she was in touch with anyone on social media.
There are striking similarities between the stories of Anju and Seema Ghulam Haider, a Pakistani mother of four, who sneaked into India to live with Sachin Meena, a Hindu man she got in touch with while playing PUBG in 2019.
Seema, 30, and Sachin, 22, live in the Rabupura area of Greater Noida, near Delhi, where he runs a provision store, according to Uttar Pradesh Police.
While Seema was arrested on July 4 for illegally entering India without a visa via Nepal with her four children, all aged below seven years, Sachin was put behind bars for sheltering the illegal immigrants.
However, unlike Seema who entered India without a visa via Nepal with her four children all aged below seven years, Anju has travelled to Pakistan legally from India via the Wagah-Attari border.
AN ASIAN writer has explained how his new book makes Britain’s imperial past “accessible, engaging and thought-provoking” for a younger audience.
Award-winning author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera’s new book, Journeys of Empire, explores empire through 10 journeys he described as being “extraordinary”. Sanghera said his book, published last month by Puffin UK, is “a way of helping children understand how Britain’s biggest story still shapes the world today.”
“We’re not taught this history very well,” he told Eastern Eye.
“The empire is morally complex – sometimes we were good, sometimes bad – so, how do you even begin talking about it? It’s also contentious. There are millions of us whose families were colonised, and millions whose families were the colonisers.”
Teachers cannot teach what they themselves were never taught, Sanghera pointed out.
“There are multiple layers to why British people are so bad at talking about this history. It touches on race, misogyny and geopolitics. It’s easier just not to talk about it.”
And , the cover of his book
Following the success of his bestselling children’s title Stolen History, Sanghera’s this latest work continues Sanghera’s mission to write for readers aged nine and above. With a focus on human experiences, Sanghera said he wanted show that history is not just a list of dates or conquests – it’s a tapestry of stories that connect people.
Born in Wolverhampton to Punjabi immigrant parents, he began school unable to speak English. Later he graduated with first-class honours in English language and literature from Christ’s College, Cambridge.
He has since built a career as a writer and journalist.
His memoir, The Boy with the Topknot, and his novel, Marriage Material, were both shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards. Empireland, Sanghera’s exploration of Britain’s colonial legacy, was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non- Fiction, named a Book of the Year at the 2022 National Book Awards, and inspired the Channel 4 documentary series Empire State of Mind.
His first children’s book, Stolen History, introduced young readers to the complex and often overlooked realities of empire. With Journeys of Empire, Sanghera aims to go further. “When I finally learned about the British empire, it changed how I saw myself, how I saw Britain, and how I saw India,” he said.
“It seemed obvious that you’d want to give this gift to young people – because your 40s is a bit late to be learning all this.”
Sanghera said the 10 journeys in the book take readers across continents and centuries, revealing both the ambition and the brutality of empire.
“The British empire covered a quarter of the world’s surface and a large portion of its population. It was seven times the size of the Roman empire,” he said.
Aiming to ensure diversity in both perspective and geography, Sanghera said he chose stories from various countries and different phases of the 400-year history.
Alongside India and Mahatma Gandhi, readers will learn about Guyana’s indentured labour system, Gertrude Bell’s adventures in Iraq, and the British invasion of Tibet led by Francis Younghusband.
“I wanted to highlight areas often left out of mainstream narratives,” the writer said. The stories are written with an accessible and honest tone, and with humour.
“Violence is a tricky area,” Sanghera said. “You can’t go into graphic detail, but you also shouldn’t whitewash it. The violence and racism of colonialism were intrinsic. “I tried to strike a balance - acknowledging the brutality without overwhelming young readers.”
Writing for children isn’t much different from writing for adults, Sanghera said.
“You still need engaging stories and to hold attention. The main thing is to avoid big words that might put them off.”
He pointed out how storytelling can counter the allure of digital screens.
“Kids are addicted to screens, and reading rates are falling globally. That’s disastrous for mental health, intellectual development, and politics,” he said.
“When you get news from screens, you’re in an echo chamber – you’re not being challenged or taught to think in a nuanced way.”
Sanghera’s hope is that stories of Journeys of Empire – from pirates to princes and explorers to rebels – will draw in young readers to a world of curiosity and reflection. He said, “The British empire is a complex story. Even the ‘good guys’ had flaws. That’s what makes it worth understanding.”
At the heart of his book is a message about complexity and contradiction. “The empire involved slavery and the abolition of slavery. It caused environmental destruction and inspired environmentalism. We live in a world that struggles with nuance, but that’s what makes us human,” Sanghera said.
“My hope is that readers – kids and adults – learn that opposite things can be true at the same time.”
After six years of writing about empire, Sanghera said he’s ready for a change. His next book will focus on the late pop star George Michael, due out in June next year.
“I thought George Michael would be a nice break from empire. But then I learned that his father came from Cyprus - which was under British rule. The reason he left Cyprus was because of the British. So, even George Michael’s story connects back to empire. You can’t escape it, wherever you go.”
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