"I have vague memories of visiting him at the Arthur Road jail. It was only last year that my 80-year-old father opened up about that experience. Since he was not a convict, he was kept in a temporary cell along with others awaiting conviction or release.

"It was a cheerless place, with open holes for toilets and unwashed plates, and where vermin-infested rice and dal was served twice a day. My heart broke when he said he went without eating for three days, drinking water straight from the tap, because the food was unimaginably filthy."

Today is the 43rd anniversary of the historic railwaymen's strike of 1974.
Author Sudha Menons father was with the National Railway Mazdoor Union, and she wrote this piece in Tehelka in 2013.  Do read