Description
Princess Abida Sultaan was the only heir to a major Indian princely state to migrate to Pakistan. Her autobiography spans the glittering era of the princely states, the end of the British Raj, and the emergence of Pakistan. The book begins with her childhood in Bhopal where her grandmother, the fourth female ruler of Bhopal, instilled in Abida the values of Islam and of spotless integrity, and also encouraged her to be independent and to excel over her male cousins and acquaintances in the tradition of Bhopal�s Begums. As heir apparent, Princess Abida helped her father administer the state. The centre-piece of the book is her agonising decision to sacrifice her roots and heritage to migrate to Pakistan with her only son, Shaharyar Mohammed Khan.
In Pakistan, she became Ambassador to Brazil. She entered the political arena by supporting Miss Fatima Jinnah�s presidential campaign. Throughout her life, she remained a committed democrat and humanist, and continued her crusades against bigotry, and the violation of human and democratic rights.


About the Author / Editor
Princess Abida Sultaan (1913�2002), born in the princely state of Bhopal, was the eldest of three daughters of Nawab Hamidullah Khan. Becoming heir apparent at the age of 15, she was brought up under the iron discipline of her grandmother, Sultan Jahan Begum, and was expected to follow in the footsteps of the four famous Begums of Bhopal. A fearless and independent person, she was appointed Chief Secretary to the Nawab in 1930, and subsequently President of the Cabinet.
An all India women�s squash champion, and an expert hockey and cricket player, Princess Abida was an outstanding sportswoman. Her favourite sport was polo and she became one of the few women handicap players after playing in her father�s famous team.
Princess Abida was a regular writer in the Pakistan press defending democracy, upholding the rights of women, and criticizing bigotry with the aid of her deep understanding of the Holy Quran.