Sashanka S Banerjee, the author of this book and retired Indian
diplomat, was closely associated with some of the leading figures
of the Bangladesh Liberation Struggle. Starting with his first
contact with Bangladesh's founding father, Shaikh Mujibur Rahman,
in the early 60s, he persuaded Mujib to not only agree a
Parliamentary system of Government based on the principles of
secularism, but also to appoint Justice Abu Sayeed Choudhury, with
whom Banerjee had a strong working relationship, as the first
President of Bangladesh. Mujib and Banerjee together sang and
informally agreed the national anthem of Bangladesh on a historic
flight they shared from London to Dhaka, via Delhi, shortly after
the end of the 1971 Bangladesh War. In this first publication of
these critical, behind-the-scenes, events, Sashanka Banerjee also
recounts his chilling encounters with Mujib's future conspirator,
General Ziaur Rahman, and assassin, Colonel Farook Rahman. In spite
of Banerjee's dire warnings to Mujib to take heightened security
precautions, fondness for his countrymen resulted in his untimely
and violent death, and triggered a long souring of the relationship
between Bangladesh and India, remote-controlled by Pakistan. With
the return to power of Mujib's daughter, Shaikh Hasina, Bangladesh
has rediscovered its original path of secular democracy and
economic development, whilst ensuring the horrific war crimes of
the mass rape and murder of over two million Bangladeshis by
Pakistan's soldiers are finally aired and justice brought to bear.
This unique insider's account of the Bangladesh Liberation Struggle
not only reads like a gripping thriller, it also sets out the
historical context of the dawn of Islamic extremism and terrorism
emanating from Pakistan. The loss of almost a half of its original
territory was a body-blow to the psyche of Pakistan's
Punjabi-dominated military rulers. The author argues that the
bloody Af-Pak conflict in Central Asia, beginning in 2001 and
continuing even today, was born in the battle fields of Bangladesh
during the India-Pakistan War of 1971. Fearing further losses to
the other ethno-national groups of the Balochis, Pashtuns and
Sindhis, the Pakistan military embarked on a self-destructive
strategy of the wholesale radicalisation to extreme Islam, hoping
it would serve as a glue to keep the country together, giving
Pakistan a new national identity. The Army helped establish
countrywide Madrassas, religious seminaries, and created and
sponsored a host of extremist terrorist groups, from Lashkar e
Tayyaba, to the Haqqani Network and the Taliban itself. It engaged
in a ferocious proxy war of revenge not only against India but
extending it to Afghanistan, and most strikingly against the the
United States of America through its close affiliation and
protection of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. The Bangladesh story
not only helps to explain the context in which Pakistan embarked on
this strategy, it also contains within it the kernel of a
democratic resolution. The Bengalis of East Pakistan led by example
and chose to fight their way to freedom from the repression and
economic stranglehold of Pakistan. Mujib offered to help his fellow
ethno-national groups to throw off the shackles of exploitation
immediately after Bangladesh secured its own independence. At that
time, however, the people of Balochistan, NWFP, and Sind were not
able to rally to his call, and emulate the bravery of the Bengalis.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
