Mishal Husain’s Broken Threads: My Family from Empire to Independence begins with an epigraph: Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s famous poem, Subh-e-Azadi (Freedom’s Morning), translated by the author herself. Husain does not provide a transcribed version of the original Urdu verses, but these are lines so immortal that they are familiar to many. Yeh daagh-daagh ujaala, yeh shab-gazida sehar/Woh intezaar tha jiska yeh woh sehar toh nahin, Faiz had written, expressing the sentiments of countless Pakistanis and Indians who had strived for independence—but when it came, it brought with it Partition.
Husain, born and brought up in the UK of Pakistani parents, chose the epigraph well. Not only does it reflect the essence of her book perfectly, it reminds us that Faiz is as much venerated in India as in Pakistan. That despite what seem like irreconcilable differences, the countries share too much in common.
Broadcaster and journalist Husain delves into the personal histories of four people who form the basis of Broken Threads. These are her paternal grandparents, Mumtaz and Mary; and her maternal grandparents, Shahid and Tahirah. From various sources, including Shahid’s detailed memoir, audio tapes that Tahirah had recorded, and interviews with Mary’s sister, Anne, Husain pieces together her family’s history, which is interwoven with that of the subcontinent.
The book is divided into three parts, the first of which is ‘Citizens of Empire’. The initial chapters are rather more per.