India, Nov. 9 -- I attended the 2025 National Endowment for Democracy Freedom and Democracy Service Awards in Washington this week, and left with a renewed understanding of what courage looks like when stripped of theatrics, politics, and public applause. These awards honour those who resist authoritarian power at the greatest personal cost. What we all witnessed was not simply recognition; it was the affirmation of lives reshaped by sacrifice, loss, and moral clarity.

This year's honorees were bound by a common adversary: the totalizing ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Each recipient represented a community under pressure, surveillance, repression, or direct assault. Yet each stood for something the CCP has never been abl...