Miss Sharma announces that Simi has been chosen to be captain of their middle school field hockey team. While Ravi and Reena offer their congratulations, Ashok who is one of Simi's classmates sends her a paper airplane telling her to leave. But Simi is determined not to let his threat get to her. Simi's team will play in the All-India National Youth Gold Cup in Delhi later in the year.
Their family's Eid celebration is marred when a rock crashes through their livingroom window. Simi sees a car with the bumper sticker, COMBAM race off. The rock is wrapped in a piece of white paper that reads, "Cancel marriage between Sikh men and Muslim women. Sikh and Hindu men are being lured to Islam with marriage. We will punish you. Go home, beef eaters." Dadu (Gurdeep's father) believes that this intolerance will pass but Nanaji (Ammi's father) wonders if it will.
Simi recalls when a group of boys called her "Mozzy" and taunted her with "Mozzy daughter" and told her to go to her country. Ammi explains that a group called COMBAM which stands for Committee to Ban Marriages to Muslims, are against interfaith marriages. They want to "cleanse" India of Muslims.
At school the harrassment continues with a note on Simi's locker that reads "Go home, Captain Simi." As coach of the hockey team and a leader, Simi has to be careful how she responds to these taunts. "Coach says a team leader has to be positive, thoughtful, and show no fear." At their field hockey practice, Simi gets pushback from Ashok and his friends who seem to be ignoring her. At a second practice, Simi confronts Ashok who tells her, "Your parents aren't legally married...Sikhs and Muslims can't marry." Ashok tells Simi that her mother "...isn't a real Indian" and that they should move to Pakistan. but Simi retorts that her mother's family goes back seven generations in their town.
As Ashok continues to ignore Simi she decides to ignore him. She eventually challenges him to either participate or step aside. When he does what she wants, Simi praises him. The following week there are pamphlets on their doorstep from the Brotherhood for Justice - a political party. The three men come to the house and are taken into the livingroom by Dadi (Simi's father's mother). The men question Dadu and Dadi if there is a Muslim living in the house and if they have beef in the fridge. Simi realizes that the men want to know if her mother - a Muslim lives there.
That night Simi overhears her parents and her father's parents discussing what is happening. Dadu advises that Gurdeep, Henna, and Simi should seriously consider leaving India. They suggest going to America where Gurdeep's cousin, Kuldeep works as a taxi driver in New York. Later at her mother's parent's home, Simi questions them about her parent's marraige and how to change people's minds. They advise her to always act with respect and love.
At the school gate on Monday, two men are handing out flyers that state, "Preserve Pure Indian Genes" Simi sees Ashok with the flyers stuck in her back pocket, leading her to doubt that she is having any impact on him. In an attempt to change the minds of the men handing out the flyers, Simi, Ravi, and Reena order samosas and jalebis for them at their construction site. After giving the men ten minutes to eat the snacks, they had the men flyers which explain the snacks were made by an Indian Muslim and that India's culture is richer for the Muslims.
But when Simi arrives home she learns that Abbu was attacked at the farm by men from COMBAM. He was badly beaten and his knees smashed. He was rescued by the farm workers and taken to hospital. After surgery on his knees, it takes over a month for him to heal. To pay for his surgery, Simi's family must give up part of the farm. Over the next few months the electricity is cut off and Dadi sees one of her gold necklaces.
They learn that more families have been attacked and there are rallies by the Brotherhood for Justice. Simi's family decidee that Gurbeer will go first to America and then Simi and Henna will follow. However, the U.S. denies Gurbeer's visa application. Nanaji tells Gurbeer that somehow he must leave the country because the situation in escalating. Interfaith couples are being targeted and some interfaith marriages are being prevented. He tells Gurbeer he will have to pay a smuggler to get him into America legally.
The final plan is for Abbu to fly to Mexico via Spain and then smugglers take him across the US-Mexico border. Five days after leaving India, Abbu calls and tells them he is now with his cousin Kuldeer in New York. With the help of a lawyer, Abbu will apply for visas for Henna and Simi to ger political asylum.
Then the Brotherhood wins a local election, meaning they can do what they want. For days the Brotherhood and COMBAM celebrate. After school one day, Simi is accosted by four boys, one of which is Ashok. However, he tries to stop the boys and eventually does protect Simi. Ashok asks if she is okay and Simi tells him if she isn't around to lead the team in Delhi, to remember to lead by example.
Abbu's petition for their visas is rejected. Nanaji tells Henna to go to the travel agent to pay for their way to America. Two weeks later, Ammi and Simi leave India for America. It will be a journey much more arduous than that of Abbu and Simi will face challenges that will change her forever.
Discussion
Freedom Seeker is a story that tackles the subject of religious intolerance in India, refugees, and illegal immigration in America. The novel is divided into three parts: 1 Fear and Flight, 2 Loss and Longing, and 3 Rescue and Reunion. The front matter contains a map showing Simi's journey.
The main premise of the novel is that Simi and her family are facing discrimination because of her parents interfaith marriage: Henna is Muslim while Gurdeep is Hindu. In the novel, the fictional group Brotherhood for Justice is seeking to outlaw such marriages and are harrassing and attacking interfaith families. When the Brotherhood for Justice wins the local election, this supposedly gives them the freedom to further their agenda against interfaith marriages. It should be noted that while there is no such group in India most Indians do not support interfaith marriage, believing it is better to marry within their own religious community. This various across regions, educational levels and even religious faiths. Laws now forbid brides or grooms from converting to their spouse's religion. This has resulted in attacks on couples in interfaith marriages. Hindus in particular are very much against interfaith marriages. The religious intolerance that Simi and her family are experiencing is a reality for those few interfaith families who do live in India. An Author's Note at the back of the novel providing some information on the situation in India might have been helpful to put the story within a proper context for younger readers.
Simi's coach does not deal with Ashok and his friends, as they harrass and make life difficult for Simi. He doesn't step in to remind Ashok that his behaviour is unacceptable and poor sportsmanship. Simi tells her coach that it doesn't seem to be about her abilities but "...about who I am, where I come from." He reminds her that it is "about proving to yourself that you can rise above it, that you are more than their narrow views." Eventually Simi does get through to Ashok, so the coach's strategy does work. But it is also putting the responsibility on a young girl to deal with what might have become a more serious situation, given the growing intolerance. It does seem though that Simi's focus on drawing Ashok into the game he loves helps him see her differently. He does protect Simi when she is attacked by a group of boys.
It is also interesting that school officials do not act on the men who are passing out flyers just outside the school gates, making the situation for the students stressful. And when Abbu is badly beaten, Simi's family does not report his assault to the police. If they do, there seems to be no action by the police to apprehend those responsible. It would appear that this inaction by school officials, police and the community at large are the reason Simi and her family have no choice but to leave.
Ruchira Gupta seems to present a very balanced view of the illegal immigrant experience in the United States. Although there is no mention of who is leading the United States, readers are told that things have drastically changed in the weeks since Abbu illegally entered the country. The area where he crossed is now blocked by a high wall "...made of tall iron spikes wrapped with four barbed wire rolls on both sides." As with many illegal immigrants, Simi and her mother and the people they are with must risk crossing the Sonora Desert in Arizona. Eventually Simi and Ammi become separated as often happens with the children of refugees.
The novel portrays the difficulties illegal immigrants face in relocating loved ones and difficulties immigration officials experience in dealing with so many immigrants with such varied circumstances. Children become separated from family. There are cold cages where the children are placed initially and later on at Casa Phoenix, a slightly better situation but many rules. There are some very good people who help Simi such as Pablo who plays games with the children, the woman Coast Guard volunteer who promises to try to find out about Simi's mother, Sophia who is Simi's counselor, and Rini Pose the journalist who manages to reunite Simi with her parents. Then there are others like Paul, Simi's case manager who seems indifferent and overwhelmed.
The novel also incorporates a few characters from various countries in order to portray the variety of people who take desperate risks to enter the United States illegally in search of safety and a better life. For Simi and her family it is because of persecution in their home country. For others like Jose, who is from San Pedro Sula in Honduras, it is the threat of gangs who run the city.
In Simi Singh, Ruchira Gupta has crafted an intelligent and resourceful character. Instead of fighting with Ashok, she manages to open who is determined to locate her missing mother. She decides to use her ability to write and speak English to enlist the help of an Indian woman reporter. This resourceful move, expedites Simi's case and helps locate her mother and reunite their family. The novel ends on a very hopeful and positive tone with many people coming together to get Ammi to New York and to her family.
Freedom Seeker is a timely novel about illegal immigrants and the struggles they face, offering hope in spite of so many obstacles and challenges.
Book Details:
Freedom Seeker by Ruchira Gupta
Scholastic Press 2025
298 pp.
Freedom Seeker by Ruchira Gupta
Scholastic Press 2025
298 pp.
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