Who is Par from The Jewel in the Crown and what is their importance?

Parvati, or Par, is Daphne Manners' daughter. She does not know her father, as she was a child rape. It is believed that her father might possibly be Hari Kumar. Par went to live with Lady Manners and Lady Chatterjee after her mother's death (her mother died in childbirth), and she is nine-years-old.