In Conversation with Mishal Husain
I had the great honour of interviewing Mishal Husain about her powerful book ‘Broken Threads: A Family From Empire to Independence’ on 5 June.
Many of us know Mishal as a journalist and broadcaster with more than 20 years of experience bringing global stories to life for the BBC. She’s now Editor at Large for Bloomberg Weekend, where she’ll be launching a new multi-platform interview show in 2025.
Her latest book, Broken Threads, is a deeply personal family memoir that explores Indian Partition (1947) through the lives of her four grandparents. Drawing from letters, memoirs, and even cassette tapes recorded by her grandmother Tahira, Mishal brings together personal testimony and historical research to examine one of the most seismic moments of the 20th century.
It was an emotional, eye-opening, and deeply relevant conversation.
It made me reflect on my own grandparents’ stories—what they endured, what they carried forward.
Mishal’s book doesn’t just look at the trauma—it speaks to resilience, memory, and the long shadows of empire. Her critique of British imperial decision-making is backed by evidence, and her reflections on Kashmir show how Partition’s legacy is still unfolding today.
Broken Threads has been a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, nominated for multiple awards, and is a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The paperback edition is out now—and I highly recommend it.
Audience members at our event shared their own Partition stories and asked powerful questions:
🌀 Why does Partition still hold such power in our collective memory?
🌀 How can South Asians in the diaspora lead the work to bring healing and togetherness amongst the community?
🌀 What impact has the book had on British politics and public understanding?
One moment that stood out was a reflection on Mishal’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, where her family’s unexpected link to America’s founding fathers highlighted how deeply interconnected we all are. And reminds us that nationalism and other identities are imposed on us and often they separate rather than bring us together.
At a time when history is often polarised or sidelined, Broken Threads is a vital reminder: our stories are entangled, not separate. And remembering them with honesty and empathy might be the key to a better future.
Buy book here: https://shorturl.at/fcOaA
A massive thank you to the Maqam Maqam Centre & Yusuf Islam Foundation for hosting the event - and to facilitating such a warm and welcoming space for the community.
Watch video below:
