Narratives unbound: Revisiting partition's legacy

Through the crucible of three partitions, Bangladesh's national identity has been forged and re-forged, with literature, art, and cinema serving as the smithies of our collective consciousness. These mediums offer not just a lens to view our layered past of loss, grief, and trauma but also a mirror reflecting the intricate mosaic of who we are. 

These themes were highlighted by Bangla Academy Literary Award-winning author, translator and critic Prof. Dr Fakrul Alam during a lecture he delivered at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) on February 7. Prof. Alam is the Bangabandhu Chair at the Department of History, Dhaka University, and Advisor to the Sasheen Center for Multilingual Excellence (SCMLE) and the Department of English and Modern Languages, IUB.

The lecture, titled "The 1947 Partition from a Thrice-Partitioned National Perspective", was the inaugural session of the Sasheen Annual Lecture organised by SCMLE. The annual lectures aim to host leading figures in the fields of literary studies, linguistics, education, anthropology, cultural, and communication studies, and beyond to build an interdisciplinary atmosphere at IUB underlined by liberal arts ethos. 

Prof. Alam, who translated Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Unfinished Memoirs, Prison Diaries, Ocean of Sorrow, Bishad Sindhu, Gitanjali, and a host of Jibananada Das's poems, said in his lecture that the historical relevance of the three partitions would never be obsolete. Beginning with the "originary and short-lived partition" of 1905, Prof. Alam talked about how the partition has been depicted in literary and cinematic forms with reference to the 1947 and 1971 partitions. 

In Prof. Alam's speech, it became evident how literary scholars and filmmakers give us lenses to deal with loss, grief, and trauma from many dimensions and make us aware of who we are. It is this ability to see all those opaque things and acknowledge them insightfully as they shape our identity.

Tanvir Mokammel, renowned filmmaker and author, and Razia Sultana Khan, PhD, Advisor to IUB's Department of English and Modern Languages (DEML), took part in a discussion on the lecture. Didar A Husain, Chairman, Board of Trustees, IUB; Vice Chancellor Tanweer Hasan, PhD; and Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. Niaz Ahmed Khan, PhD, also spoke at the programme. 

Ahmed Ahsanuzzaman, PhD, Professor at DEML, introduced the keynote speaker. Mahmud Hasan Khan, PhD, Executive Director of SCMLE and Professor at DEML, moderated the event. Alongside IUB students, faculty and staff, a number of noted personalities and faculties and students from other universities attended the programme.