At 11:11  28/09/04 -0700, you wrote: >I am reviewing the book "Memoirs of a rebel princess " >by princess abida sultan for you. > >___________________________________________ > >   Abida Sultan better known as Bia Hazur was the last >truly Begum of Bhopal. The book is the second part of >"Begums of Bhopal" by shahryar khan. It begins where >Begums of Bhopal ends. >   Adida Sultan or Bia was the eldest child of nawab >hamidullah khan. When she was born her mother was only >12 years old!!! As a result the first thing that >strikes you in the book is that she refers to her >mother by her nickname "beeva". "Beeva" was never her >mother to her only a friend. Second aspect she writes >about is her rigorous upbringing at hands of her >grandmother.Little abida when only five was made to >wake up and recite the quran. For slight mistake , her >head would be bashed against the wall. In the book, >she has written almost 50 times , that she hated her >grandmother. >    This torture made her a rebel. Her only supporter >was her father Hamidullah khan. She writes how Simple >and spartan rule of her grandmother was replaced by >gaiety and opulence of her father's reign. Soon she >became the chief secretary of the state. her married >life was a disaster by she only blames herself for it. >    The third part of her book is her moving to >pakistan. The real reason for moving to pakistan was >not her love for pakistan, but her differences with >her father when he married her classmate , the aftab >begum.How she lived for 8 years in malir without >eletricity.And how in the end she was disillusioned by >pakistan. >    One aspect about her personality that i noticed in >the book was attitude towards hindus. Unlike >hyderabad, where there was large hindu aristocracy. >There were almost no hindu nobles in bhopal. There are >almost no hindu names in the book, not even of >servants. Though princess abida does not have any >religious animosity against the hindus, she comes >across as a person who is stauch believer in concept >of "hukumran kaum".These are people who believed that >muslims were the "RULING RACE" and hindus were >"RULED". I dont think she had a good opinion of >hindus. The only hindu friends they had were the cooch >behar royal family. >    This apart the best part of this book and "begums >of bhopal" is that they are totally non- biased. Abida >is quite blunt about mistakes she made in her life. It >makes a good reading. >    Overall I would rate the book 9 out of 10.The cost >of the book is Rs 600. > >___________________________________________________ >I would like to know your comments on the book. > Akshay, thank you for the review of this book. The part that intrigues me the most, is her reason to flee to Pakistan, it seems it was to escape from her father, rather than move based on religious grounds. I exchanged a couple of letters with her and she seemed a nice old lady (she passed away in 2002 aged 88). It sounds like a worthwhile buy, as it is reasonably priced. I haven't yet looked, but I guess most internet book stores in India would have it, Oscars, Vedams etc. Cheers, Henry