Zarina Divided by Reem Faruqi

Zarina Divided is a story told in free verse about one family's experience during the Partition in 1947.

Zarina's family are Muslim and her mother, a petite woman, is expecting another baby. Eleven-year-old Zarina lives in Poona, India with her father Abajan, her mother, and her three brothers, Wahab (15), Qadir (13), and Adil (7). Their home  was once Zarina'a great-great-grandfather's.  It is a bungalow with twelve rooms and a wrap-around verandah, as well as a walled garden. Beyond the garden walls are sellers of chai, samosa, sabzi (vegetables) and bananas. Zarina's family have servants: a mali (gardener) named Irfan, a chawkidar (watchman) named Mahesh, Khushboo who is their ayah (nanny) and Basheer who is their khansama (cook). 

Zarina's father and her uncles are always listening to the radio, leaving her wondering what is going on. She hears the names of Quaid-e-Azam, Gandhi-ji, Nehru, and Jinnah Zindabad. Zarina knows there is talk of splitting the land into two countries, Pakistan in the west for Muslims and India in the east for Hindus. Zarina's father is obsessed with the idea of Pakistan, a country just for Muslims and is working for the Muslim League. His friend is Quaid-e-Azam whose real name is Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the force behind the partition.

At school, Zarina and her friends wonder who is leaving and who is staying. But their teacher, Mrs. Nizami

Zarina's aunt, her father's younger sister whom he calls Pyari Jan which means "Loved One", is married in their garden. Abajan invites not only their famiily's hired help, Khushboo, irfan, Basheer and Makesh, but also Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his sister, Fatima Jinnah. Zarina is not happy about this and does offer these two special guests the sherbet as her mother asks. Zarina realizes that if Pakistan is created they will lose their home in Poona. 

As independence from Britain moves closer to reality, and the formation of Pakistan and India also appears to be happening, Mrs. Nizami reminds her students that they are all human regardless of their faith. She gives each student a brand new pencil, something that thrills Zarina.

Zarina is furious when her best friend, Jahana reveals that her family is leaving soon for Pakistan. She tells Zarina that if she stays in Poon, like their friend Geeta, she is Hindu. The next afternoon Jahana comes by to say goodbye as her family is leaving that night.

Things begin to change in Zarina's neighborhood: the normally noisy roads are now quiet with the sellers no longer yelling about goods for sale. Khushboo teaches Zarina how to wash their clothes, how to iron Abajan's handkerchiefs, the kurtas and shalwars, and how to sweep the floor with the jharoo. Geeta is no longer allowed to come visit because she is Hindu and Zarina is Muslim and when she sees Zarina, she throws stones at her. 

In Poona there are riots with people being hurt and dying. Zarina and her brothers are no longer allowed to attend school. Her father decides that they will leave in two weeks for Pakistan, a decision that greatly upsets Zarina, especially when she learns that Khushboo will not be going with them. Khushboo explains to Zarina that she cannot come because she is Hindu and she has to stay with her family who are in Poona.

But when a mob arrives at Zarina's home looking for Muslims to kill, Zarina's father decides the must leave that night. It will be a treacherous, chaotic trip that leads to many changes for Zarina and her family.

Discussion

Although Zarina Divided is a work of historical fiction, it is loosely based on the experiences of the author's maternal grandmother, Zarina. As with the Zarina in the novel, Reem Faruqi's grandmother lived in Poona, India in a house with a large garden. Zarina's father (the author's great-grandfather Ahmed E. H. Jaffer) was a politician, elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1934. He was a member of the All India Muslim League that came to press for a separate Muslim country, Pakistan. 

As with the character in the novel, Zarina left India for the new country of Pakistan via a ship, the Shirala. And she did attend boarding school, St. Denys, but only after everyone in the family gave their approval by signing the petition her father drew up. The lone exception was her mother (the author's great-grandmother). And like Zarina in the novel, she thrived at the boarding school.

Zarina Divided manages to portray some of the reality of the Partition of India in 1947 from a Muslim point of view. Zarina's family are Muslim and when the Partition happens they are caught in India, now a country for Hindus only. This means they must travel to what was once western India, to the new state called Pakistan. Likewise, those Hindus living in Pakistan must leave their homes and move east into India. This mass migration according to the Author's Note at the back, "was one of the bloodiest upheavals in human history and was the largest mass migration of the twentieth century. Over the course of a year, an estimated fifteen million people crossed borders that were drawn up in a rush by the British Empire."

The mass migration was rife with violence and bloodshed, nd Zarina's family experienced some of that. Their trip out of Poona, India to Karachi, Pakistan is harrowing for Zarina and her family from the very beginning. The train station is chaotic, the trains packed both within and on top with people. They lose the youngest boy, Adil but Abajan is able to find him and bring him back to the train. Zarina's family barely escape being murdered on the train when a mob looking for Muslims board the train. They are hidden in a bathroom by the station manager. The trip on the Shirala is also challenging but in a different way: sea sickness, and crowded conditions with distressed children and women. 

While the author indicates that there was much killing and violence, she also highlights acts of mercy by Hindus and Muslims. For example, when a Hindu mob comes to their home in Poona, looking to kill Zarina's family, Mahesh, their Hindu watchman saves them by hiding them in the bathroom and telling the mob the family has moved. Adil who became separated from the family at the train station is also saved in what could have been a devastating situation. Abajan tells the family upon his return with Adil, 

"I saw him crying, he says.

A Hindu woman was holding him up,

asking people who he belonged to.

If it wasn't for her,

we wouldn't have found him..."

In Karachi, it is Zarina's family's turn to protect someone from harm. The house they have been allotted belongs to Rupi, a Sikh woman who is not happy with this arrangement. However, when a Muslim mob arrives, Zarina's parents hide the lady in the bathroom and turn away the mob. Rupi is grateful but nevertheless decides to leave her home. Abajan gives her the address of their old house in Poona, recognizing the injustice that's been done to her and hoping in some small way to address that.

Zarina and her family seem more fortunate than many people were during the partition. Zarina is eventually sent to a private school. This request is not without intense inner conflict for Zarina, She is Zarina divided: she desires to be a good daughter but she also wants a good education. All her family members sign the petition to allow her to attend a private school, except Zarina's mother. This creates tension between mother and daughter. Zarina feels that she has hurt her mother by leaving for school. However, both her older brother Wahab and Khushboo explain that she has done nothing wrong but that her mother is not well. Eventually Zarina and her mother reconcile with her mother telling Zarina how proud she is of her determination to learn and get an education. 

Life at the private school, St. Denys, also provides challenges for Zarina and opportunities for personal growth too. The school has a small group of students made up of Muslims and those British who have stayed behind after the Partition. Zarina befriends a British girl, Daphne Drinkwater. However one of the Muslim students, Sidra, is openly prejudiced towards the British girls. She tells Zarina that she needs to "stick to your kind of people", that is people who are brown or Muslim. Sidra talks only to the classmates who are like her, while treating the white students as though they are enemies. Finally, Zarina confronts Sidra,

"You're not better than anyone else.

You need to give people a chance

whether they look like you

or not,

whether they act like you

or not.

We are all the same kind of people,

HUMAN"

Although Zarina's words are harsh, she is happy that she didn't physically push Sidra as she might have done when she lived in Poona. Zarina remembers her bad temper and is trying to overcome it. So when she sees the sadness in Sidra, walking alone a few days later, Zarina wants to be kind. She loops Sidra arm-in-arm with herself and Daphne and notices the small smile on Sidra's face. 

Zarina also begins to assert herself when it comes to the practice of her faith. She makes the decision to fast for Ramadan. When she and her Muslim friends decide to eat Sehri and are caught, Zarina explains to the matron why this is important to them and allowances are made.

The novel ends on a happy note, with Zarina returning home for the winter holidays, reuniting with her family but also her best friend, Jahana who is interested in the attending the private school. While the novel does offer some information on the effects of the partition of India into two countries it is also about a young girl's journey towards womanhood and independence. Zarina Divided does offer readers a map of Zarina's journey from Poona to Karachi to Muree.

Book Details:

Zarina Divided by Reem Faruqi
New York: Harper Collins Children's Books     2025

325 pp.

Amil and the After by Veera Hiranandani

Amil And The After is the sequel to The Night Diary, which chronicles the experiences of a fictional Hindu family during the Partition.

Twelve-year-old twins Amil and Nisha, their father, Dadi their grandmother and Kazi the family's Muslim servant, are now living in Bombay, India. It is  January 1st, 1948. Last year, India's Prime Minister Nehru had announced that at midnight on August 14th, India would become independent from British rule and be partitioned into two countries, India and Pakistan. When this happened, India was to be for Hindus, Sikhs and non-Muslims, while Pakistan would be the home for Muslims. As a result, Amil's family had to flee their home in Mirpur Khas which was now part of Pakistan as they are Sindh Hindu and travel to Jodhpur, India. The journey was treacherous with Amil almost losing his life. The Partition had resulted in people across India and Pakistan fighting and killing each other. After a short stay in Jodhpur, Amil's family moved to Bombay for Papa's new job at the hospital. He is covering for a doctor who may or may not return.  

Amil loves to draw but finds reading and school work difficult. The letters of the alphabet all look the same or flipped, making learning difficult for Amil. Nisha suggests that he draw for Mama, as a way of expressing his pent-up feelings. Amil decides to do this.

One Saturday on their way to visit Papa's cousin Ashok, they pass a refugee camp in the old military barracks. Amil recognizes the Sindh words being spoken in the camp. Six months ago, these people had been living normal lives in what was now Pakistan. Now they are living in terrible conditions and seeing the camp upsets Amil.

School continues to be a struggle for Amil, while his twin sister, Nisha, excels. Amil wishes for a friend, someone who isn't too competitive but who also has a sense of humour. He also wants a bicycle. Amil prays to his mother, asking her to make at least one of these wishes come true. Then at school, Amil encounters a boy during lunch break, as he's taking out his tiffin. Kazi has prepared Amil's lunch of rajma masala, roti, raita, and mango pickle. At first the boy refuses Amil's offer of food. He shows Amil a flip book he's made and this so intrigues Amil that he wants the boy to teach him how to make one. They strike a bargain where the boy will take half of Amil's lunch as payment for teaching him how to make a flip book. Eventually the boy reveals himself to be called Vishal and tells Amil he is from a royal family.

Amil and Nisha struggle to settle back into life, amidst continuing fallout from the Partition. Violence, an assassination and uncertainty seem to be everywhere. But when Amil and Nisha discover Vishal sleeping on the street, Amil is determined to help his new friend.

Discussion

Amil And The After is the story of one family's struggle to rebuild their lives after the Partition in 1947 India. Their traumatic and life-changing experiences leave them uncertain about the future and wondering why they survived when so many others did not. In this novel, set in 1948, their story is told from the perspective of twelve-year-old Amil. He almost died from dehydration as they crossed the desert in their journey from Mirpur Khas, Pakistan to Jodhpur, India.

The story begins on January 1, 1948, four months after the Partition, but it is not in the past. People are still fleeing over the border between Pakistan and India and communal rioting continues with attacks in Karachi and Delhi.

The events around the Partition have left Amil with many questions including why Muslims and Hindus are fighting one another. In Mirpur Khas, Amil's family, who are Sindh Hindus, went to the Sikh temple while some Hindus went to Sufi (Muslim) shrines. His papa tells him, "Our community had Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains all going about their business."  People were able to live peacefully, despite their differences. The Partition changes all of that.

Amil realizes that his experiences have changed him. Instead of focusing on how to have fun or get a treat, he has many complicated questions. He wonders why they survived, why they have a home and food and others do not. When he sees a young boy playing in the dirt in the refugee camp in Bombay, Amil recognizes that he could be that boy "If a few things had gone another way..." Was it luck that he hadn't died in the desert, that they have a safe place to live and food?

Eventually Amil discovers that his new friend, Vishal is living on the street. In Vishal, Amil sees "...a boy exactly like he was, just unlucky instead of lucky." When Amil offers to help him, Vishal seems indifferent because he believes he is worthless and that no one cares. While Amil believes the difference between him and Vishal is simply a matter of luck, Nisha believes they shouldn't waste that "luck" and should act to help Vishal. As a result they end up taking Vishal home, feeding him and helping him to clean up and get into clean clothes. This restores Vishal's belief in his own dignity. 

When Vishal doesn't return to school, Amil is not content to simply let things go. He and Kazi discover he is seriously ill in the refugee camp and learn that his real name is Vasim Qureshi, meaning he is likely a Muslim boy. Amil is now determined to help his friend, eventually getting him treated at the hospital where his father works. He doesn't care that Vasim is Muslim, only that he is his friend. But Amil also wants to ensure that Vasim remains safe and that he doesn't end up back in the refugee camp. His determination pushes his father to find a safe place for Vasim and ultimately leads to his family helping him. The message is that we don't have to do big things, sometimes it is just helping one person that makes a big difference.

Amil And The After encourages young readers to look beyond differences and see the humanity in those who are different. Sometimes all that separates us from being homeless or a refugee is luck and circumstances. This message is an important one for people in all countries. As the Partition continues to have repercussions in India even today, this message is needed more than ever. 

As mentioned in Hranandani's first book, The Night Diaries, the experiences of the characters in this novel are based on her own family's experiences. She reiterates this in The Author's Note at the back. Also included is a Glossary of terms used in the novel. 

Book Details

Amil And The After by Veera Hiranandani
New York: Kokila       2024
342 pp.

Shahana by Rosanne Hawke

Shahana is one of the books in the "Through My Eyes" series. It tells the story of a fourteen year old girl who has lost almost her entire family to the conflict between Pakistan and India over Kashmir. As she struggles to survive, she finds herself pressured to enter into a forced marriage to survive.

The conflict over the Kashmir region began in 1947 with the partition of India and the formation of Pakistan. Pakistan believed that the former states of Jammu and Kashmir belonged to the new nation of Pakistan but India also laid claim to them. The Kashmir people would prefer to have their own state. This has resulted in two wars between India and Pakistan, in 1947 and 1965. Militants soon became involved in the conflict; Kashmiri militants fighting India along with Pakistani trained militants as well as militants fighting for Kashmir independence. To stop the infiltration of militants into Kashmir, India has constructed a "Line of Control", a wire fence topped with concertina wire that is up to twelve feet in height and electrified.  The fencing in the Jammu and Kashmir area was completed in 2004 and has significantly reduced the infiltration of militants.

Fourteen-year-old Shahana lives in her grandfather's hut with her younger brother nine-year-old Tanveer, not far from the Line of Control, a border separating Pakistani and Indian controlled Kashmir. Shahana and Tanveer lost their brother Irfan and their mother in a gun battle. Their wooden house in the village was also destroyed in the attack. When their father found them he brought them to Nana-ji, her mother's father who lived in a hut in the forest. When Shahanna was eleven and her brother only seven, they found their father bleeding on the rocks by the Neelum river. He had tried to cross to the Kashmir side to sell his shawls and was shot by the soldiers. He died after giving them his blessing. Since that time they have struggled to survive living off the milk provided by their goat, Rani and the money Shahana earns from her embroidery.

One night they hear gunfire coming from near the Neelum River "where the Line of Control runs along the border between Azad Kashmir and Jammu and Kashmir." The next day Shahana takes her embroidery to Mr. Nadir who owns the cloth shop in the village.  At his shop, Mr. Nadir gives Shahana a grey woollen robe called a pheran to embroider. Mr. Nadir suggests that Shahana sell Tanveer to him to make rugs in his shop, but Shahana refuses as she knows she will never be able to buy him back.

After milking their goat, Rani, Shahana and Tanveer walk to the big river to fish and catch a large trout. On their way home, Tanveer spots a boy lying in the river surrounded by dogs. Tanveer insists that they help the boy and against her better judgement, Shahana relents. They drag the boy out of the river, fighting off dogs, one of which is shot by a soldier on the other side of the Line of Control.

In the morning the boy awakens and tells them he is from a village in the Kashmir Valley and that his name is Zahid Amir Kumar. Zahid is looking for his father who was taken from their home in Sringar three years ago by the Indian police. Zahid wants to learn what has happened to his father. Zahid tells Tanveer that he attempted to swim across the big river during the night but Shahana knows that the Indian and Pakistani soldiers are able to see anyone with their motion sensors and thermal imaging devices. Although she is frightened, to Shahana, Zahid looks like a simple teenage boy and not a jihadist.

Shahana is concerned about Zahid staying with her as it is haram for an unrelated male to stay in the same house. However, they decide he will stay but not who he will be - brother or cousin. Tanveer takes to Zahid immediately and the two spend time together hunting. Zahid seems very frightened of the militants and out of concern for Shahana, he decides to start sleeping under her house. For one thing it is haram for him to sleep in the same room with her and he can use the rifle to protect them.

When Shahana returns to Mr. Nadir with the completed pheran, he tells her she needs to be married so that she will be protected from the militants and that he has a man who is interested in marrying her. However Shahana refuses, insisting she is too young. He gives Shahana another pheran to embroider, this time with silver thread. On the way home, Shahana stops at the house of her friend Ayesha whose father disappeared almost two years ago. Her mother, Auntie Rabia is now called a half-widow which causes her shame. As a result she is withdrawn and has not opened the door to anyone. However this time, Ayesha comes to the door after Shahana leaves and the two girls look at each other. Shahana knows she needs her friend.

Things become more complicated when a militant, carrying an AK 47 Kalashnikov and wearing a turban shows up at Shahana's home while Zahid and Tanveer are out fishing. He asks for milk from the goat and asks her about her family. Shahana tells him she has two brothers. Scared of the militant who may learn of Zahid's true identity and realizing she is in danger because of Mr. Nadir's pressure to marry, Shahana decides to reach out again to her friend Ayesha.  As she reconnects with Ayesha, Shahana begins to feel as though she has someone she can turn to. However, Mr. Nadir is determined and when Tanveer goes missing and Shahana and Zahid are injured in an avalanche, Shahana must make a difficult choice. Fortunately, help comes from an unexpected place to save Shahana from a terrible fate.

Discussion

Rosanne Hawke has crafted an engaging novel for teens, about a little known conflict in a little known part of the world called Kashmir. The partition of India in 1947 had serious repercussions for both Muslims and Hindus. The partition itself was chaotic and violent, leaving many families separated and suffering the loss of loved ones. The Kashmir conflict was another situation that developed out of the partition and it has continued to divide this part of the world, affecting families and especially children.

In this novel, Hawke, who was an aid worker in the Middle East, attempts to portray the effect the long standing conflict over Kashmir has on the children of this region. This is done through the young characters, all of whom have suffered a loss in some way. Shahana has lost her brother, mother and father and almost loses her younger brother Tanveer. Ayesha has lost her father, who disappears and is believed to have become a militant. Zahid has lost his brother who was shot by the soldiers. To get the bounty for shooting a militant, the soldiers claimed his brother was one. His father marched in protest and he was taken away three years ago.  His beautiful sister Nissa was taken by the militants.

For Shahana, the loss of her parents places her in a vulnerable situation from both the villagers and the militants. Shahana worries about the militants who kidnap young boys and make them into soldiers. They might take Tanveer. Shahana worries about the coming winter and about the wild dogs. She must support herself and her brother who also needs medicine. She attempts to do this by doing embroidery for Mr. Nadir. However, Nadir recognizes Shahana's precarious situation and takes advantage of her by kidnapping her brother to work in his store making rugs and by blackmailing Shahana into being sold in marriage. In addition to these losses, Shahana is unable to attend school because her tent school was destroyed by the militants. She wants to continue school but there is no school and she cannot make money by going to school.

Hawke does an excellent job of portraying how stressful the conflict is for Shahana and how vulnerable she is. When Ayesha encourages her to tell the world via the internet about what is happening to her, Shahana feels overwhelmed and begins to cry. "She cries for Tanveer, for herself because of Mr. Nadir, and out of fear. What if the militant steals Tanveer, or if someone finds out about Zahid? She will be worse than a half-widow. She hiccups. At least no one will want to marry her then. But could something worse happen?"

Hawke uses her characters to explain how the young people of the Kashmir region feel about the conflict. When Zahid and Shahana first meet they share how the conflict has affect their families, Zahid states, "They should ask us what we think of war..."  Shahana thinks to herself that she would have much to say. Amaan Khan states to Shahana that despite being a militant, he no longer agrees with the jihad. Like other young people in the region he simply wants to live his life in peace.  Amaan tells her,  "Innocent children are caught in the crossfire. It is not why I joined. I came so Muslim brothers and sisters would have freedom, but we are killing them, destroying their culture, not freeing them." When pressured to respond, Shahana tells Amaan, "I think there should not be militants or the army here. That the governments should make peace, so children's lives aren't destroyed. There should be no fence dividing us." 

Map showing the disputed territory and the Line of Control

Zahid explains to Shahana that many peaceful groups simply want freedom from India but that the Pakistani militants are fierce and are attempting to change their ways. Shahana tells him that her village is Kashmir not Pakistani. However Zahid states that "We were a state with a maharajah, never part of India to be handed over to Pakistan at Partition or to China. When India and Kashmir were divided into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan in 1947 the two states went to war to control Kashmir. Since then this conflict hasn't stopped."

Shahana's friend Ayesha explains to her how she can let the world know what she things and how the conflict is impacting her life. Ayesha tells her about a website "for children about peace." The site tells children what they can do to make a difference. "They are meeting with a minister from the government after the winter. He will come to the Neelum Valley and hear children's stories and see their artwork." Ayesha encourages Shahana to tell her story and to share it.

From all of these characters, readers get a real sense of how they are impacted by the war, the militants and those like Mr. Nadir who take advantage of children who are orphaned and living precariously. Readers understand just how vulnerable these children are, especially young girls.

To aid readers in further understanding the story, the author has included a map of the region showing Shahana's village and the village of Zahid in relation to the Line of Control. Included at the back of the novel is an Author's Note which provides some information about the Kashmir conflict, a timeline of events related to Kashmir, a glossary words used in the  novel and a limited reading list to learn more.

Shahana is a well-written and informative story that engages younger readers about an ongoing but little known conflict. This short novel is highly recommended to readers interested in other cultures and the lives of young people in areas of conflict and those who are interested in learning how The Partition has impacted this region of the world.

Book Details:

Shahana by Rosanne Hawke
Crows Nest, New South Wales, Australia    2013
206 pp.


Map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_of_Control#/media/File:Kashmir_map.jpg