In My Own Name: An Autobiography

This is a heartrending story by the daughter of a Sikh army officer who grew up in the Punjab. Jeet is intelligent and her parents insist upon formal education for her even though she is a girl, who does not and will not enjoy the privileges of her older brother. Attending a single-sex Sikh school, Jeet questions Sikhism, wondering why equality is preached, but she is not allowed to associate with children of the lower caste. At her father's urging, Jeet studies to be a doctor, but while in school she falls in love with a Muslim. Her parents react violently, locking her up and beating her, then arranging a marriage they consider suitable, which lasts 16 years. This story is one of courage and sadness, especially because Jeet's parents loved her very much, if in their narrow, traditional way. In what the author herself aptly calls ""a statement of agony,'' she presents strong testimony about arranged marriages. (February)