Bangladesh-based author's book released with much fanfare in Delhi

Nepal National (ANI) Sunday 5th February, 2012

Bangladesh High Commissioner Tariq Ahmed Karim and the president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Dr. Karan Singh, released Dhaka-based author Anisul Hoque's latest book here on Saturday evening.

The book, 'Freedom's Mother,' is a fiction based on a true story.

The theme of the book is the idea of freedom and the sacrifices made by people in the fight for independence. Interestingly, the book comes at a time when Bangladesh is commemorating the 40th anniversary of its liberation.

Reflecting on Hoque's work, Singh termed it as soul-stirring, thought-provoking story.

"The story is a very moving story. It shows the price one has to pay for freedom. Many people say we got our freedom non-violently, well, we did in a way, but look at the violence that took place at partition. That was also part of the freedom. Lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of people lost their lives, millions were uprooted, so, there is always a price that has to be paid and Bangladeshis paid that price in full measure," said Singh.

Echoing similar views, Karim said Hoque's book was a story waiting to be told.

"This is a story which needed to be told. We are celebrating our 40th anniversary of independence or liberation. This is a time when we need to remember what we went through to achieve what we got. Unfortunately, it is also a story which, or a great part of the story, which most of the world has forgotten. This story of angst, of suffering, of anguish, of the brutalisation of an entire society, an entire nation, it was perhaps a genocide of a larger scale than the holocaust," said Karim.

Hoque is also the Deputy Editor of Dhaka's leading newspaper, Prothom Alo.

Significantly, the release of 'Freedom's Mother' comes soon after activists launched controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen's latest work despite protests by certain religious extremist groups in Kolkata. (ANI)