Review: Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War

Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War by Sarmila Bose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Of course this book is going to be unacceptable for many. As mostly truth at first is. This was a brave piece of work. Working against the propaganda machine and searching for the truth.
All that opium with emotional topping('genocide''holocaust''rapes' etc) which is sold by media(or India) is highly illogical and far from the facts. But there is so much lying going on around about this event that it is accepted as truth blindly(because everyone is saying so). I can find a lot of such blind and ignorant people even in Pakistan. I would urge these people to just give this book a try. Ignorance is no bliss.
Bad things were done on both sides, pro-liberation and loyalist, but Pakistan Army did a very fine job. They were following orders. They were fighting an unconventional war. They were facing an enemy and traitors at the same time. They had limited manpower. There was international pressure. Men in khakis doing something wrong could easily capture the eye of journalists and media. Contrary to that the opposing party had no identity and was hard to classify. Eventually all the blame for killings was put on Pakistan Army.
No doubt Army did make mistakes and big ones. Things could have been done in a better way but as stated above this was something new for Army. But wherever they did something(to put it mildly) women and children were spared. The opposing party had no mercy. In one of the cases children were held by their feet and their heads smashed against the walls.
Sarmila Bose has done something rare and unique. She has given accounts of personalities involved in the events from different perspectives and analyzed them thoroughly. She came up with very subtly conclusions in the end. She also analyzed prevailing dogmas about this event.
I feel blessed for reading this book and am obliged to the author for producing such a work.

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