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Begum
Begum 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 of the cause for 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
1951 Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated, and 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 Pakistani 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 corruption. She occasionally met with opposition,
but she never gave up. It is this spirit that The Begum captures.
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 of the cause for 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
1951 Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated, and 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 Pakistani 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 corruption. She occasionally met with opposition,
but she never gave up. It is this spirit that The Begum captures.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2019
6 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Deepa Agarwal
90 books64 followersWhen I was a young girl, growing up in a town where there were only two streets, I never thought I'd become a writer. But I was an avid reader who kept winning prizes for writing. And the time came when I found that I had lots to write about. That my own life was as full of stories as those other people shared with me. Also, that writing was a kind of therapy that gave meaning to my existence.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 13 reviews
December 22, 2023
The Begum is a biography of Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, the wife of the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. The book is divided into two main parts, plus a foreword and an afterword.
Namita Gokhale writes the introduction, while part one of the book, The Himalayan Dynamo, is written by Deepa Agarwal, both Indian women. The second part, Madar-e-Pakistan, is written by Tahmina Aziz Ayub, while Laila Haroon Sarfaraz, the head of the All Pakistan Women’s Association, writes the afterword. Both these women are Pakistani.
This itself is interesting – four women from two countries that share a fraught history collaborate on a book about a woman. I can see why they chose to write about Ra’ana. The Begum Ra’ana lived a very interesting life – she was born as Irene Pant into a family that was originally Hindu and had converted to Christianity. Almost poetically, she lived as a Muslim after marrying Liaquat Ali Khan. The book leads us through all her social work for the empowerment and upliftment of Pakistani and Indian women and her years of ambassadorship in the Netherlands and Italy.
Through this lens that follows Ra’ana, we also see the pre-independence subcontinent evolve into India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. I was also able to see what a disadvantage Pakistan was in during the partition – from their infrastructure to their identity, everything had to be built from scratch. This is a side of the story I never got to read about in Indian textbooks.
The writing style, however, wavered for me. Deepa Agarwal explains in her acknowledgement that she had to take from biographies of Liaquat Ali to get a glimpse of Ra’ana because there was no singular biography about her that gave us a rounded image of the Begum. This book has managed to give us that – the story of yet another woman, which could have been lost to history. However, the struggle to find information about her shows in the writing style.
There is a section in the middle of the book where I lost sight of Ra’ana. This section delves into the “history” of India, much of which Indians learn in school. This means that women were completely invisible in this section, as it often is in Indian anecdotes about the “freedom struggle.”
We follow Liaquat, Jinnah, Gandhi, and Nehru, but we miss out on important parts of women’s history – like the suffrage history of South Asian women in the pre-independence subcontinent – a lot of which, we are told, Ra’ana would been involved in. I also felt that some things that I would have liked to know about Ra’ana’s personal experiences were missing. For instance, we gloss over the details of her conversion to Islam or what she might have experienced on leaving her family behind when shifting to Pakistan.
The second half of the book gains good momentum, though. This part of the story is very well written and follows Ra’ana’s personal and political life, the history of women in Pakistan, and Ra’ana’s contribution to this history. I got a better picture of who she was only at this point: what were the policies she supported, what were the ones she vehemently opposed, and what were the ones she remained silent about. We see how she might have had enemies, and how some of her rightful demands stood in contrast to a government that systemically discriminated against women.
For instance, Ra’ana spearheaded a campaign against the Hudood ordinances and the Zina laws introduced by Zia-ul-Haq. Thousands of women who were rape victims were imprisoned under this law. To prove the act of rape, the testimony of four men was needed. The uncorroborated testimonies of women were inadmissible in ‘Hudood crimes.’
The appendix in the book contains an interview that Ra’ana gave in the last years of her life, and I think this gave me the most insight into her. We see her expressing distress at the new laws and the status of women in Pakistan at the time. We don’t get to see her express painful emotions in the rest of the book, and this was a drawback for me.
Overall, an important book that tells us the story of the invisible labour that women have done in the freedom history of the subcontinent.
Namita Gokhale writes the introduction, while part one of the book, The Himalayan Dynamo, is written by Deepa Agarwal, both Indian women. The second part, Madar-e-Pakistan, is written by Tahmina Aziz Ayub, while Laila Haroon Sarfaraz, the head of the All Pakistan Women’s Association, writes the afterword. Both these women are Pakistani.
This itself is interesting – four women from two countries that share a fraught history collaborate on a book about a woman. I can see why they chose to write about Ra’ana. The Begum Ra’ana lived a very interesting life – she was born as Irene Pant into a family that was originally Hindu and had converted to Christianity. Almost poetically, she lived as a Muslim after marrying Liaquat Ali Khan. The book leads us through all her social work for the empowerment and upliftment of Pakistani and Indian women and her years of ambassadorship in the Netherlands and Italy.
Through this lens that follows Ra’ana, we also see the pre-independence subcontinent evolve into India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. I was also able to see what a disadvantage Pakistan was in during the partition – from their infrastructure to their identity, everything had to be built from scratch. This is a side of the story I never got to read about in Indian textbooks.
Ra’ana’s quote from an interview with The Herald: Unpreparedness was our terrific misfortune; every organisation that had been formed for hundreds of years was left in India. Everything had to be started anew here.
The writing style, however, wavered for me. Deepa Agarwal explains in her acknowledgement that she had to take from biographies of Liaquat Ali to get a glimpse of Ra’ana because there was no singular biography about her that gave us a rounded image of the Begum. This book has managed to give us that – the story of yet another woman, which could have been lost to history. However, the struggle to find information about her shows in the writing style.
There is a section in the middle of the book where I lost sight of Ra’ana. This section delves into the “history” of India, much of which Indians learn in school. This means that women were completely invisible in this section, as it often is in Indian anecdotes about the “freedom struggle.”
We follow Liaquat, Jinnah, Gandhi, and Nehru, but we miss out on important parts of women’s history – like the suffrage history of South Asian women in the pre-independence subcontinent – a lot of which, we are told, Ra’ana would been involved in. I also felt that some things that I would have liked to know about Ra’ana’s personal experiences were missing. For instance, we gloss over the details of her conversion to Islam or what she might have experienced on leaving her family behind when shifting to Pakistan.
The second half of the book gains good momentum, though. This part of the story is very well written and follows Ra’ana’s personal and political life, the history of women in Pakistan, and Ra’ana’s contribution to this history. I got a better picture of who she was only at this point: what were the policies she supported, what were the ones she vehemently opposed, and what were the ones she remained silent about. We see how she might have had enemies, and how some of her rightful demands stood in contrast to a government that systemically discriminated against women.
For instance, Ra’ana spearheaded a campaign against the Hudood ordinances and the Zina laws introduced by Zia-ul-Haq. Thousands of women who were rape victims were imprisoned under this law. To prove the act of rape, the testimony of four men was needed. The uncorroborated testimonies of women were inadmissible in ‘Hudood crimes.’
The appendix in the book contains an interview that Ra’ana gave in the last years of her life, and I think this gave me the most insight into her. We see her expressing distress at the new laws and the status of women in Pakistan at the time. We don’t get to see her express painful emotions in the rest of the book, and this was a drawback for me.
About the status of women in the Zia-ul-Haq regime, Ra'ana said in the interview with The Herald: During our time, I thought we were getting on, making progress. Younger women were coming out and I advertised then in all my speeches that no girl should get married until she has a profession. I constantly said that. Now I feel everything I worked for, believed in, is being undermined.
Overall, an important book that tells us the story of the invisible labour that women have done in the freedom history of the subcontinent.
March 28, 2019
I keep thinking I don't like nonfiction but then I read it and it's not so bad.
RTC.
RTC.
March 7, 2019
When Vivek said this book was up for grabs for review, the title and the subtext intrigued me! Of course, a lot of us knew about Liaquat Ali Khan as the first Prime Minister of Pakistan after the partition. But I was not aware of the life of his wife – Ra’ana (formerly Irene Ruth Margaret Pant) – which more often is the case with most spouses of political leaders with the exception of Rajiv Gandhi in India or say Barack Obama in recent times. Of course the media attention to the details of the private lives of the politicians and their spouses has made it easy for us to know a lot more about them. But such was not the case in British India or even a pre-internet era India.
The Begum is split into two parts – the first half by Deepa Agarwal taking a lot at Irene’s life as child in India, her marriage with Liaquat Ali Khan and the political career till the partition, and the second half by Tahmina Aziz Ayub which takes a look at her post the partition particularly after her husband’s untimely death in 1951. As with any multi-author books or multi-director movie montage, this book definitely will have the reader comparing the first half with the second half, and one clearly can see the stronger half.
Deepa Agarwal perhaps benefits with the meat of Irene and Ra’ana’s life prior to the death of Liaquat Ali Khan. The book traverses history of the Pant family from the point they were Hindus who converted to Christians, the upbringing of Irene, the various schools she went to, the region that Pants would spend their summer vacations in, initiation of Irene and Liaquat’s romance, their marriage till the partition, and most importantly the influence of Jinnah on their life including them needing to leave their prized possessions in India post the partition. This is a very very easy read and you also get to know ‘The Begum’ as a person and connect to the person very easily.
The second part of the book by Tahmina Aziz Ayub suffers from a documentary/literary survey type writing and there is unfortunately no soul in this writing unlike the first half and one is forced to treat the book as chapters in a history text book. There is definitely good research and good information about the Begum, but not as a portrait as the book claims to be.
One of the key takeaway from this book as getting to know how Pakistan had to start from scratch with respect to a lot of things and the first Prime Minister did not have the luxuries that his Indian counterpart had. In addition, he had a bigger task of putting his country on the map and fight unrest among people (the latter was a task for Nehru too and how he handled is a discussion for another day).
This portrait of Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, the Begum, starts out well and is worthy of a read for its first half definitely!
The Begum is split into two parts – the first half by Deepa Agarwal taking a lot at Irene’s life as child in India, her marriage with Liaquat Ali Khan and the political career till the partition, and the second half by Tahmina Aziz Ayub which takes a look at her post the partition particularly after her husband’s untimely death in 1951. As with any multi-author books or multi-director movie montage, this book definitely will have the reader comparing the first half with the second half, and one clearly can see the stronger half.
Deepa Agarwal perhaps benefits with the meat of Irene and Ra’ana’s life prior to the death of Liaquat Ali Khan. The book traverses history of the Pant family from the point they were Hindus who converted to Christians, the upbringing of Irene, the various schools she went to, the region that Pants would spend their summer vacations in, initiation of Irene and Liaquat’s romance, their marriage till the partition, and most importantly the influence of Jinnah on their life including them needing to leave their prized possessions in India post the partition. This is a very very easy read and you also get to know ‘The Begum’ as a person and connect to the person very easily.
The second part of the book by Tahmina Aziz Ayub suffers from a documentary/literary survey type writing and there is unfortunately no soul in this writing unlike the first half and one is forced to treat the book as chapters in a history text book. There is definitely good research and good information about the Begum, but not as a portrait as the book claims to be.
One of the key takeaway from this book as getting to know how Pakistan had to start from scratch with respect to a lot of things and the first Prime Minister did not have the luxuries that his Indian counterpart had. In addition, he had a bigger task of putting his country on the map and fight unrest among people (the latter was a task for Nehru too and how he handled is a discussion for another day).
This portrait of Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, the Begum, starts out well and is worthy of a read for its first half definitely!
May 15, 2019
I might say that this book had incredible potential to talk about one of the most interesting characters in the modern history of the South Asian subcontinent. It certainly delivered in the first half, but faltered in the second. I cannot help but think this might be due to the current sociopolitical situation in our neighbouring country. That said, I couldn’t be more glad to understand Begum Ra’ana with a modicum of clarity. Despite the weaknesses of the book’s argument and the repetition of facts(as well as inconsistencies in spelling), I am still pleased to have read it.
March 1, 2019
I, not being a history freak, enjoyed reading this book as it mainly focused on women empowerment and how a woman, despite of 100 obstacles in that era, when they were not considered as important as we are considered now broke free and made her own identity in politics as a social worker.
A woman in history who wasn't afraid to speak the truth and took a stand for herself and her country which we often do not come across. Her interview printed in the last few pages shows that she was very much disappointed by the partition and the Pakistan's politics when they mixed religion with the same.
Very much recommended. Very insightful. Especially for history freaks and the one's who wish to read more about women in history.
Part 1 -
This is a story of a woman who sacrificed her comfort, time and money and her family life for Muslim League and for establishment of Pakistan. Who went against the time for the betterment of society during the delicate time period post world war and the partition period. It is a well structured and detailed book starting from her childhood days to talking about her strong and not-so-usual decisions politically as well as in her personal life as she grew up to her last few years before death.
The book gave me many insightful details of the history related to Pakistan and the Muslim League which I wasn't aware of much. Interestingly, the history did not bore me at all. The book has a lot of women empowerment element present. Irene Pant who was later recognized as Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan post her marriage to a Muslim political leader who later after the partition became the Prime Minister.
Ra'ana s history as a woman in politics was more than any celebrated personality after being the first lady. The first half of the book concentrated on Irene's family history in detail.
Deepa Agarwal has penned down the entire details of the problems the family faced when they decided to convert their religion to Christianity. It came to me as no surprise that they were being treated as untouchables even when Taradutt was grieving on the death of his eldest daughter and was in an extreme state of trauma.
The story follows with her schooling in Nanital. This was very inspiring as how Irene's mother went against the trend to educate her daughter and let her work outside which would have been a distant dream for most of the girls in that decade.
"Life did not mean just the pursuit of one's own advancement or happiness but rather an obligation to make the world a better place."
There were mentions of Champaran Satyagraha and Jallianwala Bagh Massecar by Gandhiji. The partition period and how the birth of Pakistan was demanded is explained in the book which a layman can understand easily.
There were quite a few many pages focused on Liaquat Ali Khan's where I almost lost my interest. Another point which triggered me to argue was when she stated "Ra'ana made his goals/dreams hers too after her marriage."
Part 2 (written by Tahmina Aziz Ayub) of the book focused on Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan's political history and how she being a brave heart managed to continue with the welfare right from the next day after her husband's assassination. Her main focus was on empowering women to get education and to step out of their comfort zone and to live their life with zest.
A woman in history who wasn't afraid to speak the truth and took a stand for herself and her country which we often do not come across. Her interview printed in the last few pages shows that she was very much disappointed by the partition and the Pakistan's politics when they mixed religion with the same.
Very much recommended. Very insightful. Especially for history freaks and the one's who wish to read more about women in history.
Part 1 -
This is a story of a woman who sacrificed her comfort, time and money and her family life for Muslim League and for establishment of Pakistan. Who went against the time for the betterment of society during the delicate time period post world war and the partition period. It is a well structured and detailed book starting from her childhood days to talking about her strong and not-so-usual decisions politically as well as in her personal life as she grew up to her last few years before death.
The book gave me many insightful details of the history related to Pakistan and the Muslim League which I wasn't aware of much. Interestingly, the history did not bore me at all. The book has a lot of women empowerment element present. Irene Pant who was later recognized as Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan post her marriage to a Muslim political leader who later after the partition became the Prime Minister.
Ra'ana s history as a woman in politics was more than any celebrated personality after being the first lady. The first half of the book concentrated on Irene's family history in detail.
Deepa Agarwal has penned down the entire details of the problems the family faced when they decided to convert their religion to Christianity. It came to me as no surprise that they were being treated as untouchables even when Taradutt was grieving on the death of his eldest daughter and was in an extreme state of trauma.
The story follows with her schooling in Nanital. This was very inspiring as how Irene's mother went against the trend to educate her daughter and let her work outside which would have been a distant dream for most of the girls in that decade.
"Life did not mean just the pursuit of one's own advancement or happiness but rather an obligation to make the world a better place."
There were mentions of Champaran Satyagraha and Jallianwala Bagh Massecar by Gandhiji. The partition period and how the birth of Pakistan was demanded is explained in the book which a layman can understand easily.
There were quite a few many pages focused on Liaquat Ali Khan's where I almost lost my interest. Another point which triggered me to argue was when she stated "Ra'ana made his goals/dreams hers too after her marriage."
Part 2 (written by Tahmina Aziz Ayub) of the book focused on Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan's political history and how she being a brave heart managed to continue with the welfare right from the next day after her husband's assassination. Her main focus was on empowering women to get education and to step out of their comfort zone and to live their life with zest.
February 28, 2019
Born as Irene Pant, she married Liaquat Ali Khan and moved to Pakistan at the time of partition, becoming the first, first lady of the new country. Well- educated and well-read, Ra’ana was a kind human who spent her life working for women's upliftment and is responsible for quite a few progressive laws surrounding women in the country.
Read the detailed review at: http://samarpita.in/bookreview-the-be...
Read the detailed review at: http://samarpita.in/bookreview-the-be...
February 26, 2019
‘The Begum: A Portrait of Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s Pioneering First Lady’ is a biography put together by two authors from India and Pakistan tracing the roots of a woman who was part of the shaping of Pakistan as a young nation. It comes in two parts: the first part traces the roots of Irene Margaret Pant in Almora while the second part follows her journey as the First Lady of Pakistan. I found it quite a revelation that Pakistan’s First Lady belonged to a family with a strong Hindu lineage and then going on to face social censure once they converted to Christianity and then history repeating itself with Irene having to cut off family ties after she converts to Islam to marry Liaquat Ali Khan.
The book captures the essence and persona of a woman in traditional clothes but with a liberal approach and political voice and in the current context of divides over how women dress, it makes the subtle point that one’s dress is more than just one’s identity. It is a fascinating look at what history doesn’t tell us enough: the role of women in shaping political outlooks and narratives.
I would recommend this book for history buffs and for those of you who are keen to discover stories and lives of trailblazing women from India and Pakistan that we don’t know much of.
The book captures the essence and persona of a woman in traditional clothes but with a liberal approach and political voice and in the current context of divides over how women dress, it makes the subtle point that one’s dress is more than just one’s identity. It is a fascinating look at what history doesn’t tell us enough: the role of women in shaping political outlooks and narratives.
I would recommend this book for history buffs and for those of you who are keen to discover stories and lives of trailblazing women from India and Pakistan that we don’t know much of.
June 5, 2020
THis book is an honour to read for any asian/desi/muslim/woman BEgum rana was an essence of grace and par excellence as a policians wife a diplomat.The image of pakistani women has been destroyed so much in todays world that we need every pakistan girl to read this to be like Begum educated talented fierce outspoken elegant eloquent.
October 6, 2019
I learned so much about ladies who were part of freedom struggle. I didn't know that they were so well educated and took active part in representating Pakistan on international level. Begum saab was no doubt a woman of immense courage and talent.
March 9, 2019
March 04, 2019
MOTHER OF PAKISTAN - AN ENDURING BIOGRAPHY
Firstly, I would like to thank Vivek Tejuja and Penguin India for a copy of The Begum: A Potrait of Ra’ana Liaqat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s Pioneering First Lady written by Deepa Agarwal and Tahmina Aziz Ayub.
In the 21st century, it is more than clear that feminism comes in a plethora of forms. She comes in skirts or jeans, long or short, in shoes or heels, with a hijab or without. What is important is this – it is her choice. So it is, seventy odd years after the bifurcation of the Indian subcontinent, I set out to read about a lady whose identity could be defined in multiple ways – Ra’ana Liaqat Ali Khan who was born Irene Margaret Pant to a family that had converted to Christianity from Hinduism.
It was quite an odd time for me to read this book, with the rising tensions between India and Pakistan looming above all our heads. However, to read about a feminist figure from across this border that is not even a hundred years old, leads the reader to realize that as women, we fight for the same thing on either side of the border: equality.
The first part of the book written by Deepa Agarwal focuses on Pant’s life in India while the second part written by Tahmima Aziz Ayub follows her life as the first First Lady of Pakistan. Ra’ana served as an executive member of the Pakistan Movement Committee and also acted as economic adviser to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
What I adored about this work was that it showed that the liberal woman comes in many forms. In a world that tries to control how a woman dresses (she wears too little, she wears too much), Ra’ana attitude and actions show us that it is not what she wears that matters, rather it is what she does.
It is my constant opinion that we did not learn enough history while in school – especially details of “the other”. Through this biography, we learn not just about Ra’ana and the people in her life but also of Pakistan.
Read the full review at: https://neethakurup.blogspot.com/2019...
February 2, 2025
The Begum, A Portrait of Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's Pioneering First Lady, is a readable biography of the wife of Pakistan's first Prime Minister, Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan. Born as Irene Ruth Margaret Pant in a Christian family with a Brahmin ancestry in Almora in 1905. Irene completed her graduation and post-graduation from Lucknow, and after that, she went to Calcutta, where for a few months she taught at the Gokhale Memorial School. Later on she became a professor of economics at Delhi's prestigious Indraprastha College. But, in April 1933, she got married to Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, converted to Islam, and became Gul-i-Ra'ana. Begum Ra'ana played an important role not only in the Muslim League but also in the Pakistan movement. In fact, after the creation of Pakistan in August 1947, she did a great work for the rehabilitation of the refugees. And later on she became the founding president of the All Pakistan Women's Association (APWA). Begum Ra'ana was also the ambassador of Pakistan to Holland and Italy. And in 1973, she became the first woman governor of the Sind province. Begum Ra'ana breathed her last in Karachi on June 13, 1990.
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March 18, 2019Well researched and written account of Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan. The lady was an amazing person who despite being in an Islamic state did some much for women. Inspiring account for all, for what all is achievable with sheer determination and grit despite all the odds.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 13 reviews