'Research' on Bangladesh War Author(s): Akhtaruzzaman Mandal and Nayanika Mookherjee Reviewed work(s): Source: Economic and Political

Weekly, Vol. 42, No. 50 (Dec. 15 - 21, 2007), pp. 118-121 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40277060 . Accessed: 28/11/2011 02:26
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of war daytodayaccounts thepeoples' and as thefate women, I witnessed of them. The book consisting morethan 120 pages of about has aroundfive sixpageswritten to thesufferingswomen I gottoknow. of that I am morethansurethatBose has not 1 readmybook,nordidsheknow on comments the Twocritical anything she about it, because as a "researcher" AKHTARUZZAMANMANDAL theVictims: article 'Losing announcedthathersource veryproudly Women as of Problems Using the of attention been drawnbe- was mainly members thePakistani has the in Weapons Recounting to the long article by armyand has thusrevealedthatshe has latedly in the versions SarmilaBose (epw, September no trouble believing absurd War' Bangladesh the titleofthearticle be- they liketheoneabout people The very 22, 2007). provided 22, (epw,September 2007). that when heard on a they weeping trays biased position the partof the ofNageswari of on Ataullah thePakistani authoras it focusesunfavourably the therapist The author writes a on captain (i) battle. who was killedinthefrontline accusedparty, victims, according army the issuelikerapein a sensitive But how come that Bose has gone to the authoruse womenas weapons in manner, totally outrageous of I their my recollecting memory.am one ofthe through account thedaywe liberated the offending sensibilities and unfortunates has been chosen as a the bordertown of Bhurungamari who it of as in thearticle.Bose has cited dissected in herarticle "Testimony ofthevictims. prime target a Mandai"? Thisrequires ofthedaysof 1971whenas a Akhtaruzzaman myaccount After publication my the of I in Kurigram became ac- clarification. raisesvarious (ii) The article collegestudent movement book a shortpiece of threepages from tive in the non-cooperation themes without contextualising a who therewas pickedup byRashidHaider, of the rulers Pakistan against military them. on Research rapeand the of refused take any meaningful to step to- leading novelistand chronicler the of complexities wartimeviolence wards transferring power to the demo- liberation history,when he edited a of cannot issuesofsensitivity craticallyelected representative the collectionof memoirstitledBhayabaha ignore : 1971 Experiences). and should fullreferences people. I am the poor Akhtaruzzaman Abhignata: (1971 Terrible provide of The piecewritten mewas titled 'Our Mandai,one ofthethousands freedom by ofarticles croSs-checking, for and the and Mothers' itwas the and fighters, "muktijoddhas", whom Own Sisters upon ensuring methodological clarity. lifehas vestedthegreat of honour takeup narrative whatI saw in theghost to town armsto fight We the asagainstthe brutePakistani ofBhurungamari. started final Like of 13, military oligarchy. manyofmycom- saultin theevening November 1971 radesI also went the found Pakistani the through ordealoffire and bymidnight guns and afterthe liberation my country silenced.Earlymorning, of along withthe wentback to myalma mater. After com- rising sun we entered Bhurungamari I pleting study havetakenup a modest shoutingfull throatedthe "JoiBangla" my Ataullah job. private slogan.ThereI saw captain lying dead in his bunkerwith a "tormented to Witness History nextto him.The most Bengali"ladylying The subsequent in for development mycoun- horrible experience us was whatwe I the trypained me so muchthatI thought saw at thetwo-storey building nearby, should write downmyexperience a wit- co house, as where entered nineo'clock we at nesstohistory.common soldier the in the morning A foot of and foundfourwomen liberation forces my of country, personal kept two locked, ofthem my naked, completely accountof those days was publishedin withsignsoftorture overtheir all body. 1989 February titled UttarRanangoneBijaya Facts in Northern This not Exposing Front). may {Victory the be a great work no onereading Whatever havewritten whatI saw and but I is literary this book can ever accuse me of using I am ready faceanykind scrutiny to of from women as weapons in recountingthe any researcher, academic, interrogator war ever regarding narrative. This partof my Bangladesh (bythewayBosenever my mentioned the liberation of this experience translated English into and aspect got In in conflict). thisbook I have detailedthe was published thebookGenocide the in
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'Research' on Bangladesh War

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"DISCUSSION

She from eachother. editedby Sam Totten story, Twentieth separated quitea longone,letme concentrate completely Century to fellow madebyBose. the (Pakistani) writes, (I amnotsureabout nameoftheeditor, hereon theaccusation "According this had notbeen in Bose never officer, Whiledoingher"research", of butI remember wellRounaqJahan CaptainAtaullah very before he was based at me. handher Bhurungamari to me Columbia University contacting through tried contact On theother when and Nageswari. had barely there He tookherto Pakistan to which searchfortruth Haider getmy Rashid got permission Her Lt I was morethanwilling give).Maybe she interviewed Col Saleem Zia of 8 he facedthe Indianattack." research to has in area and or lack of research led herto greatly and Punjabwhowas stationed that translation Bosehas readthat English between Nageswari and with this differentiate edited cross-checked information alsoconsulted Bengali the my anthology and congratulate partisan source of hers. Quoting my Bhurungamari ifonlyshe was interbyRashidHaiderand I must to Bosewrites, her fordoing that,but her researchin account "According Mandai, estedto knowmoreshe couldhavefound town. out that the distancebetweenthe two seemedlikea ghost Bangladesh stoppedhere, as she never Bhurungamari even withRashidHaider, He claims 60 East PakistanCivilArmed place is only15kmand at thattime, checked narrative my it and Force of She to not speak myself. didnotprobe (epcaf)members 30-40Pakistani witha ferry crossing, tookonly30 minany the to a officer cover had runout utesfor commanding werecaptured they the bookwith full soldiers and original further my He in of participationtheliberation ofammunition. also claimsthat40-50 distance hisjeep. The Pakistani account my captain by was a frequent to not warwas probably known Bose.That Pakistani soldiers were killed in this beingbased at Nageswari at to source visitor theforward her Thenquoting Pakistani toAkhtaruz- battle." iswhy writes, she position Bhurun"According there. and he was no stranger Zia found injured gamari ac- shewrites, zamanMandaihe was a muktijoddha 30 "Brigadier askedanywoman, comBose never who were evacuated,and 36 ableany the Indian army as they men, companying deadordispersed monman ofNageswari Bhurungamari, The were ones. rest East bodied in attacked Bhurungamari northern werecap- about Ataullah Khan but quoted her or of Pakistan thenight November 1971". and four five, hisestimate, on n, by in the description Pakistani source at lengthand writes, its from inception tured."The anomaly I was a muktijoddha of officer 25 Punjabdescribed two contend- "Thisfellow from till liberated April provided members and we keptKurigram by It (not claimed:am) CaptainAtaullahas a account. remainedunder ingsideis notnewinanybattle 23 and Bhurungamari for known bethe as is theresearcher's to digfor truth. six-foot Pathanofficer till plus our control May 28. We retreated job statedthathe 'humane'.He further the Pakistani armymoveddeep intothe But accordingto our researcherhere ing whereas saw peoplein Nageswari Mandai"claims" weepuponhearwe interior. Ultimately had tomakea stra- Akhtaruzzaman to death. Ataullah's where ingthe and shows Zia According him, to oper- brigadier "found" that tegicretreat Indiabutwe started werepow's in India inde- whenthe Pakistanis as from she is standing a dispassionate atinginsidethe occupiedterritory had the about after war,a seniorIndianofficer Eveninheraccount scholar. we In midJuly. thisstruggle weregreatly pendent she of supportedby the Indian government, thenumber deaths has notsaid any- expressedhis respect,soldier-to-soldier, of abouttheepcaf, whowereraw re- totheofficers 25 Punjaband mentioned Force(bsf). thing andtheBorder Security people the from villagesofWestPakistan by name Ataullah,who had become a thatthe Indian cruits It was onlyin November Bose In to forward position work 'shaheed'(martyr)." the footnote army joined withus, the muktijoddhas, andwereputinto ofevidence These mentions that,"thisinclusion out- as a shieldto the Pakistanarmy. border and started strategic clearing would the from Indianside in the future in most thebattle. suffered and townsadjacentto the border. poorrecruits posts andmany this valueinassessing in was Moreover, The battleof Bhurungamari one of strength the in- be ofgreat company that war".I am happy of aspectof1971 of varies,usuallyit consists 139 or other theearliest suchclashes. fantry of to besidesaccording ourin- she noted the importance the Indian more soldiers, were sourcewhichshe nevertriedto use and Biased Description threePakistani formation company of members her Evenby Zia's wouldrequest to lookfor this about humble engagedat Bhurungamari. Boseknew Since nothing we whom fought with Division we and thepride all bear, countwith30 men injuredand 36 able 6 Mountain freedom fighter one 36 to me describe as a mukti- bodiedand four five shecouldcasually captured has a side by side. After longyearsI cannot full or all was no remember ofthem their names, of the Indian army. deathcount at least30, as there joddha accompanying of Thappa, general major her also Suchdescription served purpose, questionof dispersion Pakistanisol- buthowcan I forget was no brigadierJosie, major Chatowal Singh, there becauseinBangladesh who diers, me to shetried portray as someone as for about the land fallbackposition them. captain Shambu,captain Mitra,captain had no priorknowledge as majorBaia Reddy, wellas felBannerje, ofBhurungamari/Nageshwari, andpeople of from lowfighters the78 Bataliion thebsf As DistortingInformation and destitution. abouttheirsuffering Ataullah and others.Insteadof interviewing only were active in the Nowletus takethecase ofcaptain we fighters guerrilla of thedayto Khan, the human devil. Bose has been the perpetrators genocide,rape and monitoring regionall through she laudable quotes crimesagainsthumanity shouldalso in in successful collecting We daydevelopments. werelikethefish the from Indianside. to Thatis why about Ataullah and in her attemptto try getevidences as thewater, thesaying goes. of most herinforAs Bose has gathered to inmy book,notknown Bose,I havealso whitewash the devil's deeds made a of of cases of jugglery thelocation Bhurungamari mationsfromhighlydubious one-sided aboutfewotherspecific written as them twosites Pakistani sources she could write the But is had how women tosuffer. that another and Nageswari depicting
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DISCUSSION -

The Issue of Numbers: The role of numbers their and is place in history best understood through Sudipta Kaviraj's He phraseof "enumerative community". Akhtaruzzaman Mandai (jnofidul_hoque@yahoo. shows how numbers become discursive withtheKurigram com)is associated Spinning to Sensitivity Torture Mills,Dhaka,Bangladesh. categoriesand insteadcanoniseevents. the in the As a freedomfighter 2,00,000 has beSimilarly, number operating withand standsin for come mtonymie area we came to knowaboutmanyofthe II the historyof rape of the Bangladesh and atrocious ofAtaullah thishuman- NAYANIKA MOOKHERJEE acts war of 1971. To follow the "logic" of devilwas not unknownto us. Our inand Political Weekly(epw) doctorslike Geoffrey formers brought also "facts",Australian manynews and on an important pivotal Davis who helped in the rehabilitation and we knew verywell that auspiciousday occupies of the of programme womenraped during in aboutthe bunker tookshelter and Economic in itspublicdissemination he place thatis whythe Indian armycould pin- varioussocial scienceissuesand debates Bangladeshwar would even state this to and Asia.Recently, number be 4,00,000 as can be found it in attack.I have seen within beyond south pointtheirartillery dead body at the bunkerand could has published articles the Bangladesh recentinterviews and newspapers. This his on knowthatthiswas theman warof1971. 2005 itpublished article shouldbe legitimate In an information Bose to immediately so much suffering our by SarmilaBose as well as a critical who brought to dis- as in thearticle mistrusts she Bangladeshi and villagers cussionpiecewritten meofthatarticle scholarship thisissueand calls for on repeople,to thepoorcivilians by oftharea. Ataullah Khanwas no soldier [Mookherjee here to team 2006].Reference istothe search be "conducted a credible by his he Bosethat was published of international scholarsin a systematic defending country, was part of a article Sarmila by student and verifiable manner". Thisquibble over 22, killing machine, doing heinous acts inepw(September 2007).Toany and is to against an unarmed civil population ofsocialscience methodology memory numbers however demeaning those which no professional soldier can ever studies, article the reveals howthepursuit whoencountered violence. this think Suchactscan innowaybe equat- of"facts" of. alonedisallows analytical, soany ed withdefending one's country. that ciological,historicaland interpretativeLack of Documents: The article also In case all theNaziwarcriminals getac- perspective. will Thatitwas published epw raisestheissueoflackofdocuments the in of their is a surprise indeed. The article raisesvar- rehabilitation of quittedas theywere "defending" programme the women owncountry. ious themes without contextualising raped.Longer term fieldwork in-depth and I can only request Bose to come to themand I outline them below: research socialworkers doctors and among come and see forherself. has howeverrevealed the presenceof Bhurungamari, As forevidenceI earnestly and documents. Documents praylet a re- Case Studies:Intheearlier this article, somegovernment searcher have the sensibility read the the"casestudies" to mentioned theauthor among personal collections and oral by silence thelipsofthesuffering in and history are woman, are not explicatedfortransparency The lackof projects available. fathom extent pain in one dropof methodological the of It clarity. is notclearfrom documents of the rehabilitation protear and feel about the tormented soul. the articlethe extentof the researchin grammeis also addressedby theseindiThis requires another kindof researcher, Bangladesh, many how survivors author viduals throughsociological,historical the notoftheBosetype. sucha researcher met,particularly If is women,what was her and political contexts.The important interested gettheevidenceI am ready positiontowardsthese women,i e, her question askwouldbe why there to to are no to take him/her my native land of reflexive to It she Whatdoes this"paucity" position. isclearthat talked documents? reand to toPakistani him/her authorities accepts veal? This is nothing and Bhurungamari introduce newbutI repeat, as military ourgoodcomrade "shaheed" Tomezuddin's everything saytobe true considers anystudent social history, but of they anthropolowife.Tomezuddin down his lifein a all Bangladeshi laid accounts predominantlygyand memory as wouldknowitis theseabfrontal battle. The Razakarsabductedhis fabricated. the earlierarticle,though sencesand silencesthatwouldlead us to In wife fromtheirhouse at Dhamer Hat, manyquotes are cited of Kissinger and different archives.
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followingatrocious and unbelievable lines, "The picturepainted of captain who Ataullah his fellowofficer, knew by contradicts one given the him,completely whoappearstohaveonlyseen byMandai, if his dead body.Clearly, captainAtaullah had been based in Nageswariand only the gone up to Bhurungamari day the he Indianattackstarted, could not have beenresponsible whatever for have might Mandai been goingon in Bhurungamari. offers corroborating no evidenceforhis character assassination an officer of who haddieddefending country, thereand his cannot fore, speakinhisowndefence."

and north Bhurungamari shewas kept of in interned thePakistani camp.We could free her after liberation,but by only inthat time she had gone completely sane. We consultedmany doctorsand but psychiatrists of no avail. Frequently she turnsviolentand has to be keptin till chains.The old ladyis suffering today and waiting herdeath.Maybe she is for to also waiting a researcher comeand for her interview forevidencesbut thatreknowhowto readthedeep searcher must I know sureSarmila for human sufferings. Bose is notone ofthem.

withthe Nixon,the critical engagement In us roleisconspicuously absent. the2005 had the the article, author also mentioned of lack ofincidents rapeduring Bangthe ladeshwar in her"cases"in a smallparafound theendofherlongarticle, at graph out 100 6,500comprising words ofa nearly of of wordpaperon thesubject "patterns violencein 1971".It is those 100 words which haveexpandedinthisarticle.

= Reliance on Sources:The article accepts account Pakistani of authorievery military tiesas truth whilethatofBangladeshis as falseand "shrill if cries".Particularly the accountsare of "illiterate" Bangladeshis theycan onlybe false- so the space for is any "subalterns" clearlyabsent,while those withinthe military paraphernalia authoritative accounts legitimate provide to the author. the Particularly according role of Bangladeshi women either as or witnesses as raped: like the sweeper or Khatoon thesculptor Firdousy Rabeya is always suspect Bose. of to Priyobhashini Also while mentioning Hamdoodur the Rehman commissionof the Pakistani the does notmention government author the instancesof rapes and the role of Niazias citedinthedocument. general

DISCUSSION

of dur- Champa'swar-time violentencounter to and siblings continued work young withandwritten the ingthewarand becomes focusofsex- rape.I havealso worked women whoencountered officers aboutother ual violencebyvariousPakistani rape war.Thiswas done theBangladesh as wellas Bengali collaborators. during fieldwork well as The article Priyobhashini's bymeansofovera year's interrogates and back as cross-checking accountquestioning she stayed interviews, examwhy etc. official the her documents, archival, during warandwhether rapewas as ining to for Itwouldbe important theauthor sexualact a result coercion a voluntary of or of thatshe"willingly fraternised". cite full references articlesforcrossbystating and is transparency methodological suggesting checking, Bythatargument thearticle of the of Instead mentioning "work therapeupon clarity. thatPriyobhashini brought back? Thisisextremely two women",the "workof two women hersince stayed she of and the problematic parallels biaseswithin scholars"would alterthe expectation would the variousrape laws whichseem to suggest thekindofinformation reader are the thatwomenmusthave brought rape expect.Variousotherreferences conlike the absentin the article, in instances. spicuously uponthem different tanwhenreferring on nu- literature Partition the Bythisargument sociologically womenand the to and gentially "abducted" anced analysisofhow singlewomen in article to is their are responses Bose'sfirst suspect, never critical sexuality always has ofBihari Till ex- EPW. datetheissue and instead addressed rapes Priyobhashini's Bias towards Pakistani Accounts:The perienceis highlighted the derisive not been addressedwithinthe foldsof by as that she "makes much of her Bangladeshinationalist to the narrated her comment mentions story history is the author of The by variousPakistanimili- threats". complexity war timevio- case with various untold historiesof independently But recentlyvarious liberation of officers a Bengali compul- state formation. threatening fighter lenceand thevarious tary of in is is sive situations well articulated the Bangladeshischolarswho are critical Thisaccount whoacknowledged raping. have narrative nationalist VeenaDas, Urvashi theBangladeshi of On to believed be truebytheauthor. the work Cynthia Enloe, other hand when the sweeper Rabeya Butalia,RituMenonand Kamla Bhasin. started addressingthis untold history. whichhave how raped PrimoLevi'sworkon the holocaustalso Variousoral history projects mentions Khatoon witnessing out out made by been carried bring thecomplexity womenwere keptin variouscamps and showsthe complex negotiations This that It in is whenthisaccount repeated different survivors. is also stated Bangladesh's of the Bangladeshwar experience. at is be of account therapemust untrue literature not mentioned all in the statesthatthisis public the author testimonies, the disdain for as untrue itis narrated someoneilliter- vis-a-vis rape accountsin Bosnia where article and highlights by both the accountsby the women ate. However, kept quiet.Thisagainhas disturb- Bangladeshi scholarship.At the same is the of juncture article devoidofanysocioas authorities" ingimplications shownin thestudy and the "military "sweeper" epw has been important of similarities the roleof rapecases inIndia. logicalanalysis, reveal,striking various and women in disseminating generating Menonhas shown, As Nivedita witnessand of circulation accounts public of If the authordoes not believe the who statethattheyhave been raped are public debates. The publication this ing. withthe an to accountof the sweeper since she is an presumed be lying thelegal system, articlewithout engagement by not and methodology "illiterate"she might believe similar as theyare meantto keep quiet about existingliterature scholarfor men thisincident. as narrated someBritish onlyhas implications academic accounts by in the question Bangladesh I have metin London.These individuals ship, genocide the with un during Bang- The 'Case' of Champa: The articlealso and subcontinental the politics.It has also wereworking epw of the one of rigour warand whentakento Bangladesh statestheaccount Champafrom of hurt reputation academic ladesh Thatisunfortunate. its found raped myarticles[Mookherjee 2003] and tries hasamong readers. soon after independence narration to inferthatno rapes happenedduring Their in women various "camps". (ji.mookherjee@lancaster. Mookherjee narrated the Bangladeshwar. My articlewas ex- Nayanika tothedescription similar isexactly of in isa lecturer thedepartmentsociology, of how thetrauma rape is under- ac.uk) Astudent ploring Khatoon. Rabeya "sweeper" bythe Lancaster University. and in would find stood in independent and of social history memory Bangladesh and the process I explore how scholars of the accounts boththe "sweeper" by of makesenseoftheprocess for- REFERENCES simi- memory as officer" havingstriking "military I The nuancedarguments make Mookherjee,Nayanika (2003): 'Ethical Issues Concerning is in larities howmemory articulated. getting. Representation of Narratives of Sexual Violence', about Champa is hinged on long-term Women and War - activistweb site seeking to raise women of 1971,http://www. funds forwar-affected files of The 'Case' of FerdousyPriyobhashini: fieldwork, cross-checking hospital drishtipat.org/1971/war.htm - (2006): Bangladesh War ot 1971: A Prescription tor the social The article cites the case of Ferdousy and documentsand finding Vol and PoliticalWeekly, 41, Reconciliation?'Economic No 36, pp 3901-03, http://www.epw.org.in/ her who her womanhad workers found andbrought to who Priyobhashini as a single showArticles.php?root=2oo6&leaf=o9&filename=i of These are the"evidences" 0535&filetype=pdf to look afterher widowed motherand thehospital.
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