Pak Sar Jamin Sad Bad

Pak Sar Jamin Saad Baad (Bengali: পাক সার জমিন সাদ বাদ Pāka Sāra Jamina Sāda Bāda "The Blessed Sacred Land") is a 2003 novel,^[1] written by Humayun Azad, an anti-establishment, anti-religious writer in Bangladesh. The novel based on a religious group who collaborated with the Pakistani army during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.^[2]

Synopsis

The book title Pak Sar Jamin Saad Baad was a reference to the national anthem of Pakistan; the Urdu lyrics, written by the Pakistani Urdu-language poet, Hafeez Jullundhri in 1952, contains the following words:^[3]

The Protagonist is a fictional member of a terrorist organization. The protagonist's views are expressed in his monologue, "We aren't alone. Our brothers all over the world are doing their work. If they fly an aeroplane into a building somewhere, if cars crash into a hospital or a hotel, or if a bomb blast kills 300 people in some recreational centre, then we know it's the work of our brothers; in other words, it is our work. This is Jihad."^[4]

Controversy

Pak Sar Jamin Saad Baad, a scathing criticism about a Islamic fundamentalist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh.^[5] On 27 February 2004, Azad came under a vicious attack by unidentified assailants following the publication,^[6] which exposed the main Islamic fundamentalists in his country.^[7]

In late July 2004, Azad wrote a moving letter to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and other political leaders calling on them to restore freedom in Bangladesh and pleading for protection to himself and his family.^[7] Days before Azad's departure for Munich in early August 2004, his son was briefly kidnapped by fundamentalists whose aim was to find out Azad's whereabouts.^[8]

Criticism

Bangladeshi author, filmmaker and dramatist Humayun Ahmed called the book "so vulgar that anybody would be hurt after reading it. He doesn't have to be a fundamentalist."^[9]

References