A book published in Canada –in August 2020, narrates some of the atrocities committed by militant Bengalis on Biharis and on West Pakistanis –during the period 1970-71, in former East Pakistan.
Written by a civilian (a Bihari, who is now settled in Canada), “Refugee” mentions that in just one small town of Dinajpur, in March-April 1971, around 15,000 innocent men, women and children were killed.
The author Azmat Ashraf lost all of his family members (eight including parents, and three survived). A few excerpts from the book are given below.
Born in India in 1952, Ashraf belongs to a family that has been deeply affected by the redrawing of borders in the subcontinent over two generations. He has twice been forced to flee from conflict zones and has spent the best part of his life in search of a home. After a thirty-eight-year career in international banking, working mostly in the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia, Azmat retired in 2019 to embark on the next phase of his life – as a writer. He now devotes his time trying to understand how societies can recognize and address the conditions that lead to displacement and exile of people. REFUGEE is Azmat’s first book.
