Bangladesh, a book on Christians in the war of independence from Pakistan
Dhaka, March 1, 2014: A new book reveals new aspects of the war that led to Bangladesh's
independence from Pakistan, in particular the role played by Christians during the
conflict. It is titled "I saw the war of Independence in 1971" and is the first work
by Alex Rozario, a Bangladeshi Catholic who lives in France. The book was presented
at the book fair in February, which ended on Friday. February is an important month,
because it is dedicated to the Bengali language, whose movement - born in 1952 - was
the first sign of conflict with Pakistan.
To gather material for his book,
Alex Rozario returned to Bangladesh several times. "It's a volume on the history of
the liberation war - he tells AsiaNews - which tells the stories of the Christians
who fought for independence. My purpose was to inform the younger generation about
what I saw of the war. It is only fair that people know that Christians participated
and contributed". Those who have already been able to read the work, like Pintu Gomes,
describe it as "a good history book. I discovered many new things".
According
to famous Catholic writer Khokon Vincent Corraya, "we Christian authors should write
more. We have many talents that are never expressed. We should invest time and research
in literature".
On February 21, the world celebrates the International Day
of native languages, and the people of Bangladesh bring gifts to the tombs of the
martyrs and organizes events to commemorate them. On this day in 1952 a number of
Bangladeshi university students were killed at the hands of the Pakistani police while
protesting in honor of the Bengali language. The Movement for the Bengali language
found its political representation in the Awami League and its president, Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman.
In 1971, after nine months of war, Bangladesh declared independence
from Pakistan, becoming a parliamentary democracy. (Source: AsiaNews)