DS Books publications on Bangladesh and its Liberation

From Two Economies to Two Nations: My Journey to Bangladesh

Rehman Sobhan

Written by Rehman Sobhan, From Two Economies to Two Nations (2015) discusses the inequality and economic disparity fermented in East Pakistan by West Pakistanis, a legacy bequeathed to Bangladesh. Professor Sobhan holds this conversation through articles, personal anecdotes, and research papers, detailing the history behind Bangladesh's emergence as an independent nation.

A GOLDEN AGE

Tahmima Anam

In Tahmima Anam's debut novel, A Golden Age (2006), recently widowed Rehana Haque's life is turned upside down as war breaks out in East Pakistan in 1971. The Urdu-speaking mother of two struggles to comprehend the horrors brought about by war as she attempts to preserve her connection to both her children, and the land she calls home. As lines between patriotism and motherhood begin to blur, Rehana must rethink the life she has lived this whole time. 

A Golden Age is also available in Bangla, titled Shonajhora Din, and is also available as part of the entire trilogy set, which contains the follow up novels The Good Muslim and The Bones of Grace.  

THE GUERILLA: A PERSONAL MEMORANDUM OF 1971

Shahzaman Mozumder

Penned by the freedom fighter Shahzaman Mozumder Bir Protik—who we lost to a fatal dengue fever on December 2—The Guerilla (2014) recounts the hauntingly true accounts of a boy trading in his school lessons for guerilla attacks in Teliapara, Sylhet, in 1971. In his autobiography, Mozumder lays bare his own teenage memories of fighting alongside other Bangladeshi freedom fighters, most notably in the battle of Ashuganj, against the barbaric forces of West Pakistan.

SHONGRAMI NARI: '52 O '71 

Edited by Bashar Khan

Through a compilation of interviews, Shongrami Nari: '52 O '71 (2018) tells the story of 22 women who played crucial roles in the two historic movements of Bengal—the Bengali Language Movement of 1952 and Bangladesh's Liberation War of 1971. 

ABUL MANSUR AHMED-ER JIBON DARSHAN O SRIJON BHABAN and ABUL MANSUR AHMED-ER SRESHTHHO GOLPO 

Writer, journalist, politician, and jurist, the role of Abul Mansur Ahmed (1898-1979) in Bangladesh's literature is unparalleled. He has authored novels, short stories, anthologies, children's literature and more, but is remembered most fondly for his work with satire. 

Abul Mansur Ahmed-Er Sreshthho Golpo (2018) offers a selection of some of the most acclaimed short stories, and Abul Mansur Ahmed-Er Jibon Darshan O Srijon Bhaban (2019) presents an edited version of the author's PhD dissertation. 

বাঙালি মুসলমানের বুদ্ধিবৃত্তিক বিভ্রম ও বিশ্বাসহীনতা

Written by Syed Abul Maksud, this non-fiction presents its readers with a rather eclectic collection of essays ranging from topics such as politics and culture to literature and art. Works were previously published in the Daily Jugantor.

1971

Tarashankar Bandopahdyay

The last book to be published by the iconic Bengali author, 1971 (2015) collects two of Takashankar's novellas, "Ekti Kalo Meye'r Kahini" and "Sutopa'r Tapashya". Both are heart-wrenching tales set in a war torn Bangladesh, against the backdrop of 1971's Liberation War, stories told from the battlefield, stories of the struggles of ordinary lives.

Kishor Muktijuddho Shamagra

Mostofa Hossain 

A tribute to the brave kids, school-going children, who voluntarily took up arms to oppose the barbaric West Pakistani rule on Bangladesh in 1971, the collection, published in 2017, features the true stories behind their contribution in the Liberation War.

Genocide They Wrote: A Rebuttal of Pakistan's Denial of Its 1971 Crimes in Bangladesh

Inam Ahmad & Shakhawat Liton

A chilling account of Pakistan's war crimes in 1971, Genocide They Wrote (2016) speaks out against Pakistan's complete silence over their mass killing of Bangladeshis—the biggest genocide in history since World War II. The book collects a series of reports published by The Daily Star, collected from sources including those written by Pakistani generals.

Once More into the Past: Essays, Personal, Public, and Literary

Fakrul Alam

Professor Fakrul Alam's essay collection (2020) consists of his works published in The Daily Star newspaper from 1999 onwards—essays detailing his childhood with Tagore, milestone moments on Bangladeshi history and politics, and his professional experience with the works of literary icons in Bangladesh and other parts of the world, from Razia Khan Amin and Syed Manzoorul Islam to Jibanananda Das, Karl Marx, Edward Said, Shakespeare, and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.