The Dust of the Caravan

First translation of this memoir of Anis Kidwai, detailing her political life as a Muslim woman dealing with the aftermath of Partition.

Dust of the Caravan is a selection of writings by Anis Kidwai sketching the personal and political journey of a Muslim woman through the first eight decades of the twentieth century. A rich tapestry of tales lies in Kidwai’s often humorous and always incisive telling of the travels that took her from an upbringing in rural Awadh into the maelstrom of Partition.

Simultaneously a social history of life in rural Awadh in the early twentieth century and the birth of the national movement in the region Dust of the Caravan is an account of the traditions of mutual respect and understanding between different faiths in a shared culture and the rupture of those very traditions during Partition. It is also the story of a woman’s journey from the home into the world and from family values towards autonomous beliefs, friendships, and activism. In addition to its value as a literary work, Dust of the Caravan is an important resource in the fields of history, sociology, and gender studies.