Basu lays a quick timeline of the past and reminds us of its recurrence and relation to the present events. She writes about the country turning into a major battlefield for the world superpowers—the US and Russia. Readers learn about the damaging effects of the US withdrawing their troops from the country and what their interference meant in the first place. She does not address these questions by arguments alone, but brings up real-life stories of what the locals believed it did to them. Gul Jaan’s story stands out. A woman at a beauty parlour, Gul, much like other Afghans, had held on to the hope promised by the US government. After returning to India, Basu discovered that Gul had had to shut her salon and flee the country with her family for safety, seeing her dream shattered. 

The book is a significant body of work. Not only does it give us an unobstructed view of the fall of Afghanistan, it also offers an insight into the risks that journalists undergo while reporting. Although the last few chapters could have done with a round of editing to read sharper, they stand as the starkest testimony to both. Basu also shows us what it means to be a female journalist reporting such events. She lays everything on the line and writes without digressing from the subject of on-ground tension and the subsequent violence.

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Title
The Fall of Kabul
Author Nayanima Basu
Genre Non-Fiction
Publisher Bloomsbury India
Cost Rs 599