Introduction
'My Father My Bangladesh' is an autobiography written by our honourable prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Besides her active political career, she has a very enriched writing background. One of the greatest creations is 'My Father, My Bangladesh'. The book represents a keen observation of the writer about her childhood and her father's involvement in the nation's independence through various fragmented events in her life.
Background of the book
'My Father My Bangladesh' contains translations of six articles (written between 1986 to 1994) from another author's book, 'Sheikh Mujib Amar Pita'. She returned to her motherland in 1981 and started the democratic movement against the autocratic military government. However, the articles in the book were written at the darkest time in the political history of Bangladesh.
Summary of the Book
From the contents, it is evident that the book has five distinguished chapters. 'Bangladesh wins freedom', 'My father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman', 'Memories of Tungipara and the future of Rural Bangladesh', 'The murder of Sheikh Mujib and the attack on our young nation' and 'The house on Dhanmondi Thirty-two, A pilgrimage of the nation'.
At the time of the liberation war, the author was under house arrest with her family. According to the author, "The whole nation was, as though, a giant prison house". In the first chapter, 'Bangladesh wins freedom', the author described her imprisoned life experiences, especially what happened on 16th December 1971. On that day, when the Pakistani army surrendered at Race course, the author was still confined to their house with her family. However, on 17th December, the day after the victory, they were rescued by an Indian armed force (Hasina,2020).
Chapter two, 'My father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,' is about the life of her father, who is also our father of the nation. This chapter covers a short description of Sheikh Mujib's childhood, Youth age and colourful political career. From a little rural boy, 'how he became the token of hope of a nation' is explained in a fluent unexaggerated way. The quote of Mujib's grandmother justifies history, "Saira (Mujib's mother), I have named your son such that one day the name will be famous across the world" (Rahman, 2017).
The half of the next chapter, 'Memories of Tungipara and the future of Rural Bangladesh,' is the reminiscence of the author's early life in the village of Tungipara. The rest is about various ideas for rural development. According to the author, "My dreamy childhood was spent in the soothing (Page, 3) the soil of rural Bengal" (Hasina, Sheikh Mujib Amar Pita, 1999). 4th chapter is about the assassination of Sheikh Mujib and its aftermath. The author, along with many historians, found a tremendous similarity between the last Nawab of Bengal Shiraj-up-doula and the founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujib. They both fought for their motherland and paid the ultimate price due to the betrayal of the nearest people (Khan, 2016). The nation fell into a profound political crisis immediately after the brutal incident. Poverty and inequality increased devastatingly due to heavy inflation, higher unemployment rate and lower productivity across the country (Hasina, My Father My Bangladesh, 2021). According to the author, "It was as though the killers took revenge on their defeat, actualized their passion for evil. After the murder, the ideals, values and political consciousness of liberation struggle were completely abandoned".
The last chapter, 'The House on Dhanmondi Thirty-two, A Pilgrimage of the Nation', is about the author's memories associated with the house at Dhanmondi 32. From 1961 to 1991, many important meetings and gatherings happened there. The house is the Witness to almost every turning point in Bangladesh's history, such as the six-point movement in 1966, the Mass-uprising in 1969, Non-cooperation movement in 1971, the assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975, Anti Ershad movement in 1983 and the Election of 1991 (watching online, 2017). Furthermore, thus, the house, according to the author, "Became property of the nation."
Critical Analysis and recommendations
In the history of Bangladesh, numerous books have been written on Bangabandhu, and so will be in the future. However, neither a single book like this one has been written in the past nor will be written in the future. Because no one but the author herself could or will be able to describe - the story of Bangabandhu in the narrative of a daughter, the experience under house arrest of the Bangabandhu's family at the time of war, the author's childhood memory and the history of the house at Dhanmondi 32 authentically. No doubt, this is the most significant success of the book.
However, From the contextual point of view, the book is not a complete biography, but a fragmented picture of the past and highly enriched with complete information. For example, hardly any dedicated book has been written on Dhanmondi 32, but in this book, an entire chapter covers many historical aspects of the house, which can be a more significant source for future research on the history of Bangladesh.
Most non-fiction books comprise an introduction or preamble before the book's very first chapter. An introduction introduces the reader to the book's subject matter, explains its scope, and enumerates its back story (Penn, 2018). However, 'My Father My Bangladesh' has neither an introduction nor a preamble. So, it would be difficult for a reader, primarily foreign readers who are not concerned about the history of Bangladesh, to understand the book's content at the beginning. It would be a humble recommendation to the honourable author to include introduction or preamble to the next edition.
The book's chapters were written when the author just had arrived in her motherland from a long exile and stood against the autocratic military government in power. The country at that time was very desperate for democracy, but on the other hand, the government oppressed mass-uprising with iron hands (Hasina, Militarism vs Democracy, 1994). At that darkest
time, the author dreamt about a happy and prosperous Bangladesh with the whole of her heart, and her
visions were reflected very brightly throughout the book's chapters. For example, in the third chapter, she suggested various spheres of rural development, such as electrification, transportation, education and scientific advancement in villages to achieve the country's overall development.
Conclusion
Every event described in this book is near the author's heart. The author's life story is the life story of Bangladesh as well. That is why almost every writer is equally relevant to the nation. 'My Father My Bangladesh' is not merely a biography but a token
of the author's sagacity and what she earns through her struggling life. This book will undoubtedly inspire the nation in any grave crisis.
This review is written by Md. Oli Ur Rahaman , 73 FTC participant, and he is liable to this content.
