IN the annals of political history, Bangladesh stands out uniquely as having lived under three flags in one century. But, quite reasonably, Bangladesh could have escaped the second flag if only the leaders had the vision to realise the political absurdity of holding together the two parts of a country separated by some twelve hundred miles on the basis of religion only. In 1971, when Pakistan split apart and Bangladesh was created, it was clear that the way India had been divided in 1947 was not a fitting solution, as the authorof this work remarks in his prefatory notes.

Commenting on the collective efforts of the great Bengali leaders, work that reached a finality through the achievement of Bangladesh, the author would rank their contributions in thefollowing order, 'If thefirst runner in the relay race of Bengali nationalism under Muslim leadership was Sher-e-Bangla Fazlul Huq, the baton changed hands to Suhrawardy, then to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the last runner who crossed (the) victory line in pegging the flag of a new state on the political map of the world.'

Sifting through the classified official documents of the pre-Partition days, which were not available for a long time, the author places Suhrawardy close to the position held by Jinnah and Nehru. He says, 'On the eve of Partition of India, Suhrawardy, the premier of Bengal, came to the political spotlight of India as the architect of the possible third independent state, the Free State of Bengal, side by side with India and Pakistan with (the) support of Viceroy Lord Mountbatten and Jinnah.' In 1947, the Bengali Muslims under the leadership of Suhrawardy failed to fulfill their dream of becoming the masters of an undi-

vided Bengal, but it became true to a large extent in 1971 under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Suhrawardy did not achieve his dream of a united Bengal, but his vision, was 'most statesmanlike,' as Nicholas Mansergh mentions in his book, The Transfer of Power. History, to be correct, has yet remained rather uncharitable to Suhrawardy where his statesmanship is concerned.

The author has undertaken constructive research on Sher-e-Bangla Fazlul Huq and places his position in Bengal in these words: 'After Sirajuddaulah, the last Nawab of Bengal, lost his throne, Fazlul Huq assumed the role of uncrowned king of Bengal in modern times when he held

the office of... Premier of Bengal.'

The stature of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was symbolised when he, in his magnanimity, granted clemency to 195 Pakistani war criminals. 'There are only a few instances in world history where a surrendered army was shown generosity by an authority which came to power', the author notes.

Analysing the turbulent periods of Ziaur Rahman and Ershad, the author euphemistically comments: 'While Zia was asked to play a legitimate rescue role while the country was plunged into a political upheaval, Ershad seemed snatching away, almost stealing, a new robe of democracy put on by Bangladesh . . . The stigma of a backdoor entry into the country's political arena by toppling an elected government aside, Ershad's lacklustre management, autocratic and repressive measures and archaic political style were no match for the earlier popularity of Zia and his political party BNP, although notably both men originated from the same military establishment. Ershad, president for nearly nine years, was ousted through popularuprising,..'

The emergence of Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, leaders of the two mainstream political parties, the BNP and the Awami League, marks a watershed in a third world country like Bangladesh. The dynastic lineage no doubt was a good launching pad for their entry into the country's political stage, but they too in their turn proved their political mettle in no uncertain manner.

The book is characterised by the author's unerring eye for the current socio-political spectrum of the nation. He writes: 'A serous deficiency in the development of parliamentary democ-

racy in Bangladesh is that the top agenda of the opposition party is simply to unseat the government without any well-explained issue or policy and would prefer to settle issues on the streets instead on the floor of the parliament".

The page-turning chapter, 'Changing phases of Bengali nationalism leading to the Bengali Muslim identity', is analytically outstanding. The author in his incisive critique presents the character of Bengali nationalism over a period of a century. Like any other nation in Asia, the author points out, 'the Bengali Muslims are passing through the process of searching for their identity. They are both Bengalis and Muslims.' Interestingly, the author finds some resemblance between the Muslims of Indonesia and those of Bangladesh in their search for a proper identity. He notes, 'Since gaining independence both Indonesia and Bangladesh experimented with secular nationalist ideologies. Due to the global effect of (a) resurgence of Islam, the Muslims of Indonesia and Bangladesh wish to combine their appeal towards their indigenous identity with the common ideology of the world Muslim community.' The comparative substance of Bengali nationalism and Bangladeshi nationalism leads the author to conclude: 'After the evolution of Bangladeshi nationalism, the continuation of Bengali nationalism in the political sense is simply nonexistent.'

Liberation from alien rule, albeit at a great price, was a splendid chapter in the nation's history. Many of the hopes the people pinned to that gain are, however, yet to materialise. The book reflects some desolate aspects of today's society, but there is at the end a speck of hope as the real mean-

ing of freedom emerges. The supreme tragedy of Bangladesh has been the mutual enmity between two mainstream political parties, the BNP and the Awami League, putting the nation's progress in serious jeopardy. Surely after liberation it was a new dawn, a new script; but whether our leaders could prove themselves equal to the task is a question mark with an asterisk. We are in a kind of time warp. It is time for widespread, sustained and farsighted public dialogue, so we can take a hand in shaping our collective future, theauthorfeels.

The book should be appreciated by scholars who are sensitive to context yet committed to the generalised historical explanations emanating from a case-oriented holistic approach that can better accommodate problems of multiple causation. A book of this genre dovetailing the past and present should squarely help a reader's understanding of the dialectics of the present scenario of Bangladesh in a correct perspective.

It is a dignified, serious piece of work and the style is engaging. The author narrates political history without giving in to personal emotions or partisanship; he proves himself a master navigator in the choppy sociopolitical seas that most often characterise our understanding of history, past or present. The portrayal of the political landscape is both compelling and utterly consistent with what we know today. A valuable bibliography containing the names of and references to books and documents are of immense helpforfurther research.

Syed Badrul Haque is former public relations officer to the President of Bangladesh