PLURALITY OF HISTORIES: NATIONAL DISCURSIVE NARRATIVES ABOUT 1971 WAR

Abstract

The research article is based on new historicist technique and presents a comparison of the ‘national narratives of Pakistan and Bangladesh’ about 1971 war embodying the theme of secession. Therefore, for current research work, the ‘literary and non-literary texts[1]’ of both Pakistani and Bangladeshi writers have been selected. These representative texts about the discourse of separation and liberation, and 1971 war present dissimilar and opposing ‘national narratives’ about the whole event and 1971 war. This contrastive comparative textual analysis has helped the researcher to note and record disparities that how issues are taken and interpreted, even manipulated, at different levels, within a single society or nation for upholding and protecting vested (personal) interests.

Keywords: Plurality, history, national discursive narrative, 1971 war.

[1] Literary text for both Pakistani and Bangladeshi discourses is Fault Lines: Stories of 1971

Non-literary text for Pakistani Discourse is Rao Farman Ali’s How Pakistan Got Divided

Non-literary text for Bangladeshi Discourse is Shahzaman Mozumder’s Guerilla: A Personal Memorandum of 1971