For the first time translated into English. Bangladesh, 1971: the war of independence from Pakistan has torn through peaceful villages and turned life upside down. In the midst of war, one young girl holds on as she discovers the world’s unpredictability. During her father’s prolonged absence, she reminisces about the essence of her abbu, an esteemed professor, loving community leader, and now unexpected warrior.She is moved by his quiet determination to preserve Bengali language and culture in a struggle for autonomy. In his diaries, her abbu describes the painful decisions he must make because of the threat of war, from embracing the brutality of taking up arms to the struggle of moving his family from the embattled city of Dhaka.Amid the tragedy is the unbroken bond between a father and daughter, which makes this powerful and historically faithful portrait of a family surviving the worst in the fight for independence all the more stirring.

    The narrators come from different walks of life, from renowned authors to front-line freedom fighters and common citizens.The original book was published in December 1989 in Bengali, and was titled "১৯৭১: ভয়াবহ অভিজ্ঞতা". The editor of the book was Rashid Haider. The near forty translators and contributors of this English book are all born after Bangladesh's liberation. The editors, translators and contributors come from different backgrounds themselves and are spread across the world. This collaborative work was initiated by the editors from the need of translated documentation and non-fiction work on Bangladesh's liberation war and the genocides of 1971 in Bangladesh.