The Lives of Freda Bedi

Andrew Whitehead joins the Bookclub to talk about the little-known story of Freda Bedi.

Andrew Whitehead

Andrew is a historian, lecturer and freelance journalist with 35 years with the BBC as a correspondent, presenter and editor of BBC World Service News. He is honorary professor at the University of Nottingham & also a visiting professor at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai, South India. Andrew's first book 'The Lives of Freda Bedi’ includes new material based on extensive access to the Bedi family archives. He is currently working on his second book 'Curious London' which will be published later this year.

Andrew Whitehead joins the Bookclub to talk about the little-known story of Freda Bedi. Bedi was an English woman who made her life in India after marrying a Punjabi-Sikh student in Oxford in 1993. After marriage, Bedi regarded herself as Indian and lived in Lahore where she championed India’s national cause during the Second World War. She later became an active Kashmiri nationalist, a Tibetan Buddhist and towards the end of her life a Buddhist nun, but India would remain her home to the end.

Buy ‘The Lives of Freda: The Political, Spiritual and Personal Journeys of Freda Bedi’ here >>

Jassa Ahluwalia

The first of our 2024 Bookclub talks was with actor, presenter, and now author, Jassa Ahluwalia who was in conversation with presenter and author Noreen Khan.

Amandeep Madra & Parmjit Singh

Warrior Saints tells the compelling story of how they fought back to establish a powerful empire stretching from the borders of Tibet to Afghanistan across Punjab's plains. The Sikh army became one of Asia's most powerful but their growing territorial ambition brought them into conflict with a rival foreign power, the British East India Company.

Prof William Gould & Prof Sarah Ansari

The politics behind the Partition of India in 1947

Vee Walker

Vee Walker, award-winning author and heritage consultant, was inspired to write her prizewinning epic novel of WWI, Major Tom's War, by the unlikely yet true love story of her own grandparents.

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