In a political landscape often flattened by cliches and selective memory, ‘Love, Exile, Redemption: The Saga of Kashmir’s Last Pandit Prime Minister and his English Wife’ (Rupa Publication) arrives like a gust of Himalayan wind - sharp, unsettling, and bracingly honest.
Siddharth Kak and Lila Kak Bhan’s biographical tribute to Ramchandra Kak, the last Kashmiri Pandit prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir, is not just a family memoir. It’s a political thriller, a love story, and a historical reckoning rolled into one.
The book opens with the quiet dignity of Kak’s early life and his marriage to Margaret, an Englishwoman whose letters and pleas, especially to Sheikh Abdullah, form some of the most poignant moments in the narrative.
But sentiment never softens the spine of this story. Kak’s tenure as PM (1945–47) was marked by ideological clashes, palace intrigues, and a relentless tug-of-war between Delhi, Srinagar, and the ghosts of Partition.
On page 98, Kak is seen navigating the mercurial moods of Maharaja Hari Singh - “a whimsical man of many moods” - whose distrust of everyone, as noted on page 100, created a climate of chaos that Kak had to manage with surgical precision.
The book doesn’t shy away from naming names or asking uncomfortable questions. Was Kak’s refusal to bend to Sheikh Abdullah’s ambitions the reason he was branded “pro-Pakistan”? Did Nehru’s bruised ego after his arrest in Kashmir catalyse Kak’s ouster? And why did Gandhi, without hearing Kak’s side, call him a “gunehgaar”?
These aren’t rhetorical flourishes - they’re backed by letters, diary entries, and unpublished memoirs that the authors unearthed during the COVID lockdown. The result is a textured, emotionally charged account that refuses to play nice with official history.
Swami Sant Dev, introduced on page 102, adds a dash of mysticism and intrigue. His proximity to the Maharani and Nishant Chand raises eyebrows - was he a spiritual guide or a schemer in saffron?
The mysterious “Mr. A case” (page 117) and the ideological duel between two Kashmiri Brahmins (Chapter 14) further deepen the narrative’s complexity.
The book also takes a hard look at the National Conference. Pages 142–143 liken Silk Factory operatives to “storm troops”, a chilling metaphor that underscores the party’s aggressive mobilisation tactics.
Prime Minister Ram Chandra Kak’s house being surrounded, his sarai raided for sugar, and his vehicles allegedly seized by NC leaders paint a picture of intimidation and opportunism. Were these isolated incidents or part of a larger pattern of political bullying?
One of the most haunting threads is the silence that followed Margaret Kak’s letters from England. Sheikh Abdullah, despite repeated appeals, did not intervene. Nehru, too, remained distant. Was this tactical, ideological, or simply the cost of being a man who refused to play by Delhi’s rules?
The book’s title - Love, Exile, Redemption - is not just poetic framing, but a map of Kak’s journey: his principled stand against Dogristan, his refusal to accept a jagir after Nehru’s arrest, and his eventual exile.
The authors further hint at the possibility of publishing Kak’s unpublished autobiography, a tantalising prospect that could further disrupt the sanitised narratives of Kashmir’s political past.
Visually, the book is a treat. Archival photos, sketches by Kashmira Tembulkar, and a pencil rendering of “Damin-i-Kosar” - the Kak family’s home - add layers of nostalgia and intimacy. But it’s the writing that truly shines. The prose is crisp, evocative, and unafraid.
Siddharth Kak, known for his television work, brings a storyteller’s rhythm; Lila Kak Bhan adds emotional depth and archival rigour.
In a time when history is often weaponised or whitewashed, ‘Love, Exile, Redemption: The Saga of Kashmir’s Last Pandit Prime Minister and his English Wife’ dares to be both personal and political.
It’s a book that doesn’t just inform, it provokes, questions, and mourns. And in doing so, it redeems a man who was once branded a traitor, but who may well have been Kashmir’s last honest broker.

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