Winston Churchill’s belated admission that Ranjit Pandit, Nayantara Sahgal’s father, died because of poor conditions and the treatment he received in jail was revealed for the first time at a London literary festival highlighting South Asian writers.

The India perspective of Britain’s war-time hero and prime minister is usually associated with what he said of Mahatma Gandhi, variously described by him as a half-naked fakir, “malignant subversive fanatic” and a “thoroughly evil force.”

Less well known are the words of contrition he expressed about Ranjit Pandit, Vijaylakshmi Pandit’s husband and Nayantara Sahgal’s father, who was sent to Bareilly prison by the colonial authorities and died soon afterwards in 1944.

“We killed your husband didn’t we”, Churchill asked Mrs Pandit shortly after she arrived in London in 1955 as India’s High Commissioner to the UK. Mrs Pandit replied, “No, every man lives to his appointed hour.” Churchill responded, “Very nobly spoken.”

The exchange between the two leaders was disclosed on Thursday night at an event billed as “Twin Dynasties”, contrasting Nayantara with Fatima Bhutto, the niece of Benazir and daughter of Murtaza Bhutto.

It was Nayantara who was the star turn of the evening. Her poise and quiet dignity made a huge impression on members of the audience each of who paid £9.50 (Rs 670) to hear her speak.

“You can’t go through life nursing grudges, anger and bitterness”, she said. “If we keep harking back to the wrong someone does us, there would be no end to it..” She drew attention to Nelson Mandela’s creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission “without which South Africa’s past evils would never have healed.”

Fatima was a study in contrast. Heavily made up in a sleeveless dress, square faced and square shouldered, she needed no encouragement to talk about aunt Benazir. “I was very close to my aunt until power happened to her. Entitlement changes everything.”