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Pakistan As A Peasant Utopia

- The Communalization Of Class Politics In East Bengal, 19201947

  • Format
  • Bog, hardback
  • Engelsk

Beskrivelse

"During a substantial stay in some East Bengal villages in the summer

of 1971, when East Pakistan was in the traumatic process of being

transformed into Bangladesh, it first dawned upon me that peasants

were not stupid, devoid of political consciousness. Discussions with

different types of peasants revealed that at least the upper echelons

were aware of the implications of the liberation struggle for

Bangladesh and the superpower involvement in it. Richard Nixon and

Indira Gandhi were familiar names. Ordinary peasants often quoted

the Bengali news readers and commentators of the BBC world service

and the Voice of America. Well-to-do peasants who owned transistor

radio sets regularly tuned into the British, American and Indian radio

stations. Many inquisitive and worried peasants asked me (then a fresh

graduate from Dhaka University) how their cherished Sonar Bangla

(golden Bengal) would improve their socio-economic conditions. Many

peasants also took part in the liberation struggle as members of the

Mukti Bahini or freedom fighters. Almost everyone, with a few exceptions

who collaborated with the Pakistan armed forces, was a keen

supporter of Bangladesh. After the emergence of Bangladesh, things

did not change to the expectations of the masses, but rather deteriorated

so much that Henry Kissinger is said to have coined the phrase

''bottomless basket"" as a denotation for Bangladesh, because of the

rampant corruption of a big section of the Bengali bourgeoisie at that

time. I was provoked to write the history of the peasants' glorious role

in the Liberation Struggle which was being overshadowed by claims

and counter-claims of heroism and sacrifice by members of the

privileged, parasitical urban elites. This work may be regarded as a

prelude to the history of the freedom struggle that eventually led to the

creation of Bangladesh. This is an attempt to shed light on the peasant

politics, almost synonymous with Muslim politics in the region, during

the significant period between 1920 and 194 7 when East Bengal was

going through the political process that culminated in the creation of

East Pakistan in 194 7."

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Detaljer
  • SprogEngelsk
  • Sidetal328
  • Udgivelsesdato13-09-2019
  • ISBN139780367282158
  • Forlag Routledge
  • FormatHardback
Størrelse og vægt
  • Vægt453 g
  • coffee cup img
    10 cm
    book img
    15,2 cm
    22,9 cm

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