CAMBODIA IN A SOLDIER'S VIEW

It was no one-off that the sword and the pen ran parallel. As a subaltern Sir Winston Churchill hardly twenty three made his maiden venture into the world of literature," The Story of Malakand Field Force" published in 1897. This finally paved his way to ascend to the zenith of most coveted honour on the planet- The Nobel Prize in 1953. Gone are the days since the time of Alfred Tennyson who eulogized the British soldiers in the war of Crimea, The Charge of The Light Brigade

Theirs not to make reply

Theirs not to reason why     

Theirs but to do and die 

Into the valley of death. 

This scenario has morphed a good deal brandishing the slogan of a good soldier. Now a good soldier is an all-rounder. " A good soldier is a good statesman, a good orator, a good teacher, a good planner, above all a good writer". That exactly what is revealed in a Bengali treasure-trove," Cambodia" by Brig. Gen. Md. Bayezid Sarwar. "Cambodia" is an 800 page mini encyclopedia compiling the twenty -year research works of Brig. Gen. Sarwar. The writer should be applauded for presenting his own genre of description without following any prescription from any quarter. Beginning with the index, inclusion of a poem introducing every chapter, the footnote, cascading of the context like a natural flow of stream – all give testimony to his seminal thought. "Cambodia" is an assorted combination of history, geography, archeology, architecture, travelogue, literature, demography and of course of peace mission. In style, in context, in language, in thought- it's a unique presentation. The soldier hit the bull's eye. The skill and the dexterity of the writer excels excellence in drawing the nexus between India and Cambodia vis-a- vis Bangladesh turning to first century AD.

Siem Reap is the gateway to Angkor Wat. It is the capital of the province of Siem Reapof north-western Cambodia. The literal meaning of the word, "Siem Reap" is defeat of the Siam(Thailand). It denotes the historical rivalry between the Siamese and khmer kings. Although Siem Reap was known to the outside world even before, it was emblazoned on the world map by French explorer Henry Mouhot in 1860. Siem Reap is regarded as the world's fourth best city for travel and revel. The gate way to Angkor wat, it is the main city ditching clusters of small villages along the river Siem Reap built around the pagodas. Here the river Siem Reap courts the big Tonle Sap lake in the north. It still holds an array of colonial structures. Siem Reap is not only the capital of tourism industry of Cambodia, it is also the UNESCO world heritage site. Landscaping over 400 Sq. Km. Angkor Wat is the biggest religious structure in the world and a top most archeological venue in the South East Asia. Once the oasis of peace how Cambodia turned into a bloody battle field in 1970-"Cambodia" is replete with history. Although 90%  of the population belonged to the same race(Khmer) and 88% of the nationals enjoyed same religion (Buddhism) – how that country divided into four political rivals fostering violence, enmity, mistrust, death for political and personal gain is so graphically penned by Sarwar in ,"Cambodia". History teaches us that lesson. With this backdrop, Cambodia has reverted itself to an almost stable country - a safe haven for investors attracting thousands of tourists. Cambodia has become a rival to Bangladesh in garment sector. It gives us an immense pleasure that the sacrifices of more than thousand Bangladeshi peace keepers and the death of three dedicated souls along with the other global contributors didn't go in vain.

Everybody cherishes to reminisce his childhood, boyhood into his olden days- buoyant on the time-machine Sarwar takes us thousands years back to the perilous maritime voyages our ancestors partook from the beginning of the first millennium almost to the end of fifteenth century. The sea route from the eastern coast of India including Bangladesh promoted trade not only with Cambodia but also with other south-east Asian territories. They never intended to represent the vanguard of any military campaign. The legacy of that tradition as annual Bali voyage (Indonesia) is celebrated along the coast line of Orissa by the wives for the safe return of their husbands even today by tipping off lighted candles into sea water. The story of Chand Sawdagor can be traced in our folklore. In the ancient time hundreds of traders from our region used to travel with their merchandise to South- Eastern countries including Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Malay, Sumatra, Java and Bali. Inadvertently those early explorers carried with them their religion, language, arts, philosophy, culture, political faith which greatly influenced the mind set of Cambodia culminating in the creation of Angkar wat. The sculptures, engravings, base relief, sensuous female figures in the monuments mostly represent the cult of Hindu scriptures from Ramayana and Mahabharata. It was not only the merchants and traders from this part travelled to those regions but also India with present Bangladesh was the recipient of visits by many legendary personalities of history. Ibn Batuta the Moroccan traveler (1344), Fahian the Chinese explorer(fifth century), Huen sung the Chinese  traveler(seventh century),  Xuan Zang the Chinese monk, Faxian the Chinese foot adventurer, all left their foot prints on the course of Indian history. According to legend, Chinese admiral Jeng Hey (1413-1431) visited Sonargoan two times. Scholar Atish  Dipankar,  a son of Vikrampur made a reverse journey from Bangladesh to South Asia, Java, Sumatra, Tibet to China.

The Muslim population of Cambodia is about 2.5% most of whom belong to Cham community who fled from Champa in Vietnam around 1471. It is believed that a few Sahabis from Abyssinia had set their feet in Indo-China in 617-18.

At times references have been repeated but sometimes such repetitions are necessary as a rejoinder for upscale readers. The authoritarian command of Bayezid collided with pundit Nehru's Glimpses of World History. Buoyant after the victory of battle of Al-Amin, Churchill said, "This is not the end, this is not  the beginning of the end, this is perhaps the end of the beginning". Recalling Nobel Laureate Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, I repeat for Brig. Gen. Md. Bayezid Sarwar, "This is not the end, this is not the beginning of the end, this is perhaps the end of the beginning".

The reviewer is a senior trainer of Associates in Training and Management(AITAM).He is a freelance writer.