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The Begum
by Deepa Agarwal
4.7
4.7 out of 5
Creators
Author Deepa Agarwal
PublisherViking
SynopsisBegum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan was the wife of Pakistan's first prime minister.
She was born Irene Margaret Pant in Kumaon in the early twentieth century. A
generation earlier, her family had converted to Christianity, and Irene grew up in
the shadow of the Brahmin community's still active outrage. Always intelligent,
outgoing and independent, she was teaching economics in a Delhi college when
she met the dashing Nawazada Liaquat Ali Khan, a rising politician in the
Muslim League and an ardent champion for the cause of Pakistan.
She was immediately inspired by both the man and the idea; they married in
1933 and Irene Pant became Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan. In August 1947 they left
for Pakistan-led by Liaquat's mentor and friend, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Ra'ana
threw herself into the work of nation building, but in 1952 Liaquat Ali Khan was
assassinated-the reasons for his murder are still shrouded in mystery. Ra'ana
continued to be active in public life-and her contribution to women's
empowerment in Pakistan is felt to this day.
Ra'ana's life story embodies all the major tropes of the Indian subcontinent's
recent history. Three religions-Hinduism, Christianity and Islam-had an immense
impact on her life, and she participated actively in all the major movements of
her time-the freedom struggle, the Pakistan movement, and the fight for
women's empowerment. She could see clearly what went wrong after 1947 and
wasn't afraid to say so. She spoke out openly against the rise of religious
conservatism in Pakistan and the growing role of the army. She was
occasionally derided or ignored, but she never gave up. It is this spirit that The
Begum captures
