LIBERATION
AND BEYOND
Liberty and AfterWhy the root of Indo-Bangla distrust goes back to 1971
By A
K Ray
LIBERATION AND BEYOND
BY J N DIXIT
KONARK
PAGES: 317
PRICE: Rs 395
 This book appears to have been written in
a hurry. That probably is the reason behind a number of errors, omissions and some
misinterpretation. The author seems to have also relied far too much on what D.P. Dhar
chose to tell him. The book divides itself into three parts: the road to separation, the
actual conflict, and Indo-Bangladeshi relations, with the author's thoughts and a
prognosis.
The genesis of the alienation between the two wings of
Pakistan did not, as J.N. Dixit seems to imply, begin in the late '60s. The great divide
had already become evident by 1953-54 and formed the subject of a "note"
submitted by this reviewer to the government of India, to which there was an extremely
interesting sequel. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had decided on independence as the only course
in July-August 1965. He had given me a hint on June 6.
Chapter 3 ("India Gets Involved") unfortunately has
too many factual inaccuracies to point out here. Unpardonable is the failure to mention
the role of S.K. Banerji, who was secretary in charge of the area during the most crucial
months in 1970-71. The author has simply failed to assess the importance of the defection
of Amjad Ali and K.M. Shahabuddin from the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi.
Perhaps unknown to the author, war planning had started at
the Eastern Command HQ in May 1971. We had no faith in diplomatic manoeuvres and knew that
war was inevitable. There are two grave errors in Chapter 5. After his singular act of
defiance in Chittagong, Major Zia ur Rahman retreated into safe sanctuary and sat out the
liberation war. He was by no means a "war hero". M.A.G. Osmani's role too was
marginal, not crucial as the author believes. Secondly, Edward Kennedy visited the refugee
camp not in October-November but in June-July.
The value of Chapter 5 lies in the documentation of
atrocities by the Pakistan Army. There are better accounts of the war itself written by
others.
As for the sadness and disillusionment over Indo-Bangladeshi
relations, for which the author seems to hold the Bangladeshis mainly responsible, I have
two comments. Due to a silly directive from Dhar, air war news bulletins used to start,
"The valiant Mukti Bahini assisted by Indian forces ..." Secondly, in a mood of
disenchantment and despair, Sheikh Mujib told my wife in Dhaka in May 1972, "India
has left me high and dry. Thirty per cent of the people I am running this country with are
pro-Pak elements ..." Dhar had sowed the seeds of distrust at Mujibnagar in 1971. We
have to reap the harvest.
Despite all this the author must be given credit for his bold
and forthright views on what ought to be done with Indo-Bangaldeshi relations. One may
disagree on some points but kudos are certainly due for plainspeaking.
THE DARK SUN & THE WOMAN
WHO WORE A HAT
She's Born Free
A road map to the many meanings of womankind
By Sukrita
Paul Kumar
THE DARK SUN & THE WOMAN WHO
WORE A HAT
BY KAMAL DESAI
STREE
PAGES: 166
PRICE: Rs 140
In a cosmos of fierce darkness a streak of light outlines a
primordial woman, shorn of all acculturation. The woman then fleshes out her self through
action, led by both instinct as well as conviction. That, I think, serves as an effective
entry point into the densely nuanced and intriguing world of Kamal Desai's Marathi
novellas, The Dark Sun and The Woman Who Wore a Hat. They offer a surreal meandering into
the female psyche, at once complex and simple.
The woman in The Dark Sun is wedded "in her mind"
to Ashwaratha, "the enemy of the gods, of humankind and of the earth". She
identifies with men who stand for sin and deformity, defying fear that sits perennially in
the mind of a human being. The framework of mythological allusions provides a sense of age
and continuity to human experience. It validates what might seem otherwise extraordinary,
even impossible. Meanings pile up as the protagonist moves on like a Kali, a Stree or a
Shakti. The temple of the Dark Sun had mocked at her. And she becomes a metaphor for
defiance and demonstrates the ire of a mad woman in managing the explosion of the temple
of the Dark Sun single-handedly. She dies in triumph -- as the strong female principle
itself.
The Woman Who Wore a Hat, on the face of it, is a simpler
narrative. It is a story of a woman who has lost her memory. It is the others who want to
know her past, to quietly assign a role to her. "Why does that disturb you so?"
she asks. She herself is quite content, suspended in the present with no past to restrain
her.
Sukhmani Roy lifts the original experience of the novellas
from Marathi and transposes it into English sensitively. Kudos to Stree for letting us
have an opportunity to feel the pulse of Desai's women asserting themselves with elemental
ease and strength. |
