Love, Exile, Redemption (The Saga of Kashmir's Last Pandit Prime Minister and his English Wife)

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On Monday, 22 September 1947, we finally left Kashmir. Even as she and I flew out, my mother's attachment and love of the Valley was manifest as she gazed down, probably trying to distract herself, looking through the small window of the Dakota, at the familiar landmarks she was leaving behind. Landmarks that had become so much a part of her... My father was, by then, under house arrest.

Ram Chandra Kak, the Kashmiri Pandit prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was ousted by Maharaja Hari Singh, and put behind bars on the eve of India and Pakistan's independence. Over the decades, the blame for Maharaja Hari Singh's indecision regarding Kashmir's position has been laid at the feet of the previous Prime Minister.

For the first time in history, witness the truth of Ram Chandra Kak's career and life. Consisting of letters and diary entries by his wife Margaret Kak, as well as sections from Kak's unpublished memoir that looks at his career in state administration, this book reveals a side to the family and Kashmir that has never been seen before. Written by their grandson Siddhartha Kak and their daughter Lila Kak Bhan, this book is a glimpse of a couple that was present at the precipice of history, facing all obstacles thrown their way with grace and courage.

Siddharth Kak is a well-known television personality, commentator, foodie and author. One of the pioneers of Indian television, he is knowledge partner of Vitasta-The Festival of Kashmir hosted by the Ministry of Culture and member governing board of the Surajkund Mela Authority. His TV series Sarabbi became a cult show of Indian culture and identity airing on national primetime from 1991-2001. Siddharth Kak's television company, Cinema Vision India, has won several major television awards and three national awards. It has produced more than 100 documentaries and several long running television series for leading television channels in India.

Lila Kak Bhan has devoted half a century to a career in teaching. She started working, straight after completing her TTC and BA in 1963. She worked in India for almost two decades, which included leading, as headmistress, the Progressive Education School in Indore, MP, known for its student-centred, holistic approach to learning. Lila also taught in the US for 30 years and retired from the Fessenden School in West Newton in 2020.

She now lives with her husband Krishen in Sudbury, the US, with both her children and their families also settled there.

It was over half a century ago when I first came to live in Kasauli as an impressionable five-year-old with Pandit Ram Chandra Kak, my grandfather whom I simply called Bhaiji, and Margaret Mary Kak, my step-grandmother lovingly known to me as Bended. I remember the uncluttered beauty of this charming hill station and the rustic simplicity of our lives. I am now 75 but still vividly remember the events that took place 70 years ago-so fundamental were they to my formative years.