Book Review: The Bride by Bapsi Sidhwa

Qasim, a tribesman from the mountains, decides to live in Pakistan when the sub-continent takes new contours in 1947’s partition. On his journey to Lahore he takes an orphan girl, named Zaitoon, for his daughter. Qasim and Zaitoon start living with Nikka pehlwan’s family in Lahore. Nikka initiates his business by borrowing cash from Qasim whereas Qasim starts earning with a small job on daily wage. Nikka’s wife Miriam helps in the upbringing of Zaitoon. Qasim wants Zaitoon to marry one of his clansmen called Sakhi. When Qasim deems it appropriate for Zaitoon to get married she is taken by Qasim to his village. On their way Zaitoon is attracted towards an army man. She remains silent and does not disclose it to Qasim. Furthermore she is perplexed by her position in the new society in which she is about to move. 

When Qasim returns back to Lahore Zaitoon realizes that her new life in the mountains is engulfed with misery and pain. Her husband physically tortures her, there is no reasonable diet and living conditions are not conducive. One day Zaitoon decides to run. When her husband discovers her absence, he along with his tribesmen starts the hunt for Zaitoon. She knows that once discovered in the forests they will surely murder her. After days of wandering and discomfort Zaitoon finally reaches an army camp. There she is rescued by a military official who sends her down country, away from the wrath of tribal people. Sakhi informs his brethren that her wife is already dead, despite knowing that she is still alive. Sakhi had been assured by the army official that he would make sure Sakhi’s honor remains intact by not leaking any news of her. On the other hand Sakhi would not direct any threat to the girls’s life. Sakhi had agreed as he had no other option, because he could not wage a war against the military might. Sakhi wailed and gave in. This book is about mores, matrimonial affairs, obligations and family loyalties which Sidhwa has nicely, weaved and presented before the reader.

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Book Review: Benazir Bhutto Daughter of the East

Benazir Bhutto’s autobiography starts with the chapter named ‘The assassination of my father’. In this chapter she narrates her father’s case, visits to his jail and the deplorable living conditions of the jail where he was kept. Moving forward Benazir reminisces her childhood and talks about her family life. She took her O level exams at Vatican embassy in Pakistan. Later on Benazir went to Harvard University to pursue higher education. Benazir is of the view that, by studying at Harvard she began to understand more about Pakistan than she had been while living in Pakistan. 

When her father visited US for attending the UN sessions he would direct Benazir to be part of those sessions as an observer. In addition to that Benazir remembers her father telling her: “One of the fundamentals of diplomacy is to create doubt”. Later when Benazir went to Oxford she also served as the President of Oxford Union, for three months. Tariq Ali, a leftist had also remained president of the Oxford Union. In the book Benazir Bhutto presents her father’s case before the reader and argues that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had made adequate reforms in Pakistan which were in accordance with Islam.  After attending Harvard, Benazir went to Oxford. At Oxford University, Benazir also owned a personal car. On her return she intended to join Pakistan’s Foreign Service. When Benazir returned to Pakistan she had an Urdu tutor and her father would always tell her to improve her Urdu. In this book frequent mention of Zia-ul-Haq is made by Benazir. Benazir believes her father was judicially murdered by Zia and his cronies. Zia who had passed over six generals kept harassing Benazir and her family. She was kept in Sukkur jail, Karachi Central jail and was numerous times under house arrest. Benazir at one point in her book also mentions that both she and her mother were allowed to keep servants in jail. 

Adding on to that Benazir was later permitted by Zia to go abroad on medical grounds. There she travelled between London and Paris. She continued her political engagements for her party and also got involved in highlighting the perils of Zia’s rule in Pakistan by engaging with the western media. When she was in France, her younger brother Shah Nawaz died under mysterious circumstances. Shah Nawaz used to train guerilla fighters in Afghanistan and is said to have mentioned Zia’s threat to his life, prior to this incident. Moreover in the book Benazir unveils about her marriage with Asif Zardari, who was also from a feudal background. Benazir believes that under US pressure Zia held the elections of 1985. She further narrates events till the day of Zia’s plane crash in Bahawalpur. Benazir concludes by hoping to cast her vote in 1988 elections and believes that one day Pakistan would become a democratic and progressive country.

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