The birth of an unlikely hero

Humanity by people like Mansuri are the biggest antidotes to the toxic atmosphere that has corroded our social fabric.

A riot isn’t normally the time when one’s faith in humanity is reaffir­med. At least that’s what I be­li­ev­ed until I went as part of a fact-finding team to north-east Delhi last Saturday. It was a wet and thundery day, made even more sombre by the harrowing testimo­nies we heard from survivors, especially those from Shiv Vihar, one of the worst affected localities during the violence. However, the day was brightened by our Uber driver, 41-year-old Gulfam Man­su­ri. First, after he realised why we were going to north-east Delhi, he put the taxi’s meter off. “Since the riots began, I’ve