The first volume of Assamese author Dr Rita Chowdhury‘s book ‘Neverland-Zero Hour Trilogy‘ was published in Dhaka in mid-April 2024. This publication is entirely on the role played by the north-eastern Indian Province of Assam in the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi freedom fighters present at the event claimed that a foreigner penned such a research-oriented novel about the War of Liberation in a rare first.

Rita’s father Biraja Nanda Chowdhury, an explosives and guerrilla warfare expert, had trained special forces (of the Bangladeshi freedom fighters) at Haflong, Assam. Hence, he was in touch of many freedom fighters. However, Biraja Nanda Chowdhury did not disclose any information to anyone. Instead, he burned all the secret information regarding the War of Liberation of Bangladesh.

On the occasion, Dr Chowdhury said: “We all grew up in an era when Assam struggled to repel intruders from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). After being an active participant in the Assam Movement, it is difficult to stand on the opposite side and to pen the story of the suffering and struggle of Bengalis for their language. It becomes also difficult to explain the emotions of the Bengalis from their perspective.” She added: “It is an incredibly daring attempt of mine to publish the book itself in Bangladesh.“

Before the publication of the book, Dr Chowdhury visited the Liberation War Museum and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman‘s official residence at 32 Dhanmondi (for the first time). Later, she stressed that the second volume of the book would be on the Liberation War, and the third and final volume would span from Mujib’s assassination to 2011.

It may be noted that a guerrilla group of 17 youths led by Habibul Alam, the leader of the Crack Forces in the Liberation War trained in Haflong, launched a guerrilla operation in the heart of Dhaka city in May 1971. Alam is also a character in this publication. The freedom fighter said: “This is the first time a foreigner has penned such a book about the War of Liberation even without ever seeing the Liberation War Museum and Mujib’s house.“

For his part, Dr Muhammad Samad, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University, stated: “China and the US were against the Liberation War. The Pakistani soldiers used Chinese rifles to kill innocent Bengali people. Many feel shy to admit this fact today because of China-Bangladesh trade relations.” He further said: “Even before her arrival in Bangladesh, Dr Rita Chowdhury penned such a vivid novel. All these are stories for the new generation. However, the perception of those who experienced the War of Liberation is different.“

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das