The Inspiring Story of a Life Well-lived

Review by Ronica Wahi

 


The Lady of Two Nations

By Raj Gopal Singh Verma

First published: 2022, Vitasta.

Pages: 276.

ISBN: 9789390961269

The Lady of Two Nations is an inspiring biography of an important figure in history. It chronicles, with some back and forth in timelines – as the subtitle makes clear - Life and Times of Ra՛ana Liaqat Ali Khan; and in doing so, recreates the world that she lived through.

Raj Gopal Singh Verma, the author, has crafted a well-researched and an engrossing narrative that makes evident his qualification and deep interest in History. He brings alive a bygone era, and presents many historical details that are not well known. Discussions on social atmosphere and relations, tidbits about places – such as about the town of Almora or the Wenger’s Café in its early years, and glimpses of the kind of conversations young people who cared about the fate of their country might have had in those momentous times make this a valuable piece of work. The book offers readers a deeper understanding, thus, of the years relevant to the life of Gul-e-Ra՛ana – the years of undivided India, the Partition, and after.

Yet, readers who are not fans of history need not hesitate in picking this up, for it reads more like a novel. The story of the family of Irene – who became Gul-e-Ra՛ana, the story of how Irene and Liaqat Ali Khan – who became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan – fell in love in undivided India, the story of the growth and the impact of both, and the story of how she brought up her children and contributed to Pakistan in various ways after Liaqat’s assassination will keep readers hooked.

Irene, a smart and confident woman with social conscience, gradually became a powerful figure. Born into a second-generation Christian family that had converted from Hinduism and married to a Muslim Nawab who rose to great prominence, hers was no ordinary destiny. And she was no ordinary woman.

She was among those women who made lives better for other women and not merely through direct contribution. The doors that the steps of women such as her opened for other women and the inspiration that stories such as hers provide too have a great contribution to how women’s lives have shaped up within the last century. And these need the kind of acknowledgement that the author has given through bringing to life the life of Gul-e-Ra՛ana.

For the love story it relates, and the learning and inspiration it offers, The Lady of Two Nations is worth reading.

Recommended!

 

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