Kabir Bedi & his parents

[rajnish manga]

Kabir Bedi & his parents

[rajnish manga]

Kabir Bedi & his parents

[rajnish manga]

Kabir Bedi & his parents

[rajnish manga]

Kabir Bedi & his parents

Freda Bedi - Kabir's Mother

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Kabir Bedi & his parents

Freda Bedi - Kabir's Mother

Freda Bedi - Freda Houlston, as she was known before her marriage - was from Derbyshire. She studied at Oxford, married B.P.L. 'Baba' Bedi, and came out to India where there were both immersed in nationalist and leftist politics. 'Barely a week aftr finishing Final Schools', Freda wrote, ' we were married in the dark and poky little Oxford Registry Office.' She wore a sari as her wedding dress, and in the autumn of 1934, the Bedis and their four month old baby moved to India.

Both Freda and Baba Bedi were active in Kashmir in the 1940s, and wer close to Sheikh Abdullah and the National Conference. Freda famously wore a burqa and carried message around Kashmir and to and from Lahore in the mid-1940s when the maharaja jailed many Kashmiri nationalist leaders. This photograph was taken in Lahore in 1942 when Freda was an active Congress worker.

The photo is from Freda and Baba's elder son, Ranga Bedi, who says:

'My mother was a Congress woman in the 1940s, offered Satyagraha as one and served a six months jail term in Lahore Jail in 1941/42. I may be wrong but I think she was the first British woman to serve a jail term in the freedom movement. Her life was a fascinating story. A Masters from St. Hugh's in Oxford, took active part in India's freedom movement, and later in her life was Asia's highest ordained Buddhist Nun who championed the cause of Tibetan Buddhism worldwide.'

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Kabir Bedi & his parents




(Father) Baba Pyare Lal Bedi and (Mother) Freda Bedi

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Kabir Bedi & his parents

Freda and Baba Bedi together. It was taken at Nishat Bagh, one of the Mughal gardens in Srinagar, in 1948. The occasion was a garden party hosted by Sheikh Abdullah.

Baba Bedi was a prominent Punjabi communist and writer, remembered as very gregarious, and a key figure in Kashmiri politics in the 1940s. He is credited with being the main force behind the 'New Kashmir' manifesto of 1944, featured above. Margaret Bourke-White wrote about him - he accompanied her to Baramulla shortly after Indian troops repulsed armed tribesmen from the town.

The Bedis were a celebrated couple in Lahore and in Srinagar, with a wide circle of friends. While Freda turned to Buddhism later in life, Baba Bedi also embarked on a spiritual journey - in his case, Sikhism.

Their younger son is the film star Kabir Bedi. Of his mother, much noted for her looks and political courage, Kabir says her renown was hardly surprising: 'she was blue eyed, white skinned and fighting the British'.

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Kabir Bedi with his sister Gulhima

and elder brother Ranga

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Kabir Bedi in some of his roles

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Protima Bedi - Kabir's First Wife Who died in a natural catastrophy