Pakistani-American novelist Bapsi Sidhwa gives her perspective on the politics and history of one of America's most important allies. Her novel, "Cracking India," described by The New York Times as "one of the finest responses made to the horror of the division of the subcontinent," was made into the film, "Earth," by Canadian director Deepa Mehta. Sidhwa, who was on the advisory committee to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Women's Development, has taught at Columbia University, University of Houston, Mount Holyoke College and Brandeis University. Among her many honors, Sidhwa received the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan"s highest national honor in the arts, the Bunting Fellowship at Radcliff, Harvard, the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writer"s Award, LiBeraturepreis in Germany, and Italy's prestigious Premio Mondello 2007 award for her novel "Water."
