Kashmir's flawed hero

Chitralekha Zutshi's book on Sheikh Abdullah is outstanding, and there is much to learn for readers irrespective of their political affiliations

Sheikh Abdullah: The Caged Lion of Kashmir 

Author: Chitralekha Zutshi

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 384

Price: Rs 799

So, what was Sheikh Abdullah, the Lion of Kashmir? A good guy? A bad guy? A traitor? A patriot? All? None?

This book answers these questions and more objectively, based on research spanning 30 years.

The book is outstanding, and there is much to learn irrespective of your political affiliations.

Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah (1905-82) was a deeply conflicted individual. He was a fierce Kashmiri nationalist but also aspired to lead the Muslims of

the entire Indian subcontinent — Chitralekha Zutshi says this could be one reason M A Jinnah