BLiterature-Apratim

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to write against Pakistani atrocities. However, their exposition was sheltered under
myths and symbols.
Finally East Bengal torn out of Pakistani rule in 1971 but in 1975, a
reactionary military insurrection brought the country back to a revival of the
ideological darkness that the nation witnessed during its Pakistani regime. So the
struggle for liberation continued till the 1990s in this ‘liberated’ Bangladesh. As a
result the literature of independence movement lasted since 1960 till 1990 before it
was overshadowed by the latest artistic concept - Postmodernism.
East Bengal and its capital Dhaka became the centre of Bangla literature. The
writers of West Bengal, who were influenced by the leftist Nakshal movement, were
undermined. We can trace the beginning of the period with Shamsur Rahman’s
poetic collection Prothom Gan Dwitio Mrityur Aagey (1960). Showkat Osman’s
Kritadasher Hashi (1962) was a milestone in this time’s fictional literature. Also his
Janani (1958) is a widely acclaimed novel.
Shamsur Rahman, Shankha Ghosh (b. 1932), Samir Roy Chowdhury (b.
1933), Sakti Chattopadhyay (1933-’95), Sunil Gangopadhyay (1934-2012), Binoy
Mazumder (1934-2006), Al Mahmud (b. 1936), Shaheed Kadori, Sikder Aminul Haq
(1942-2003), Amitabha Gupta (b. 1947), Khandakar Ashraf Hossain (1950-2013),
Joy Goswami (b. 1954) are chief poets of the age. Among them, Rahman and Kadori
have written brilliant political poems. And Mahmud has created a new diction of
modern poetry. His poems have rural setting, are rich in rural words and also uphold
modern consciousness. Unfortunately since the 1980s he leaned toward
fundamentalism and thus brought an untimely death to his poetic prospect.
The war of 1971 has also been portrayed in contemporary fiction-writers’
works. Some of these writers are Abu Zafar Shamsuddin (1911-’88), Showkat
Osman, Rashid Karim (1925-2011), Alauddin Al Azad (1932-2009), Syed Shamsul
Haq (b. 1935), Hasan Azizul Haq (b. 1939), Mahmudul Haq (1941-2008),
Akhtaruzzaman Elias (1943-’97), Humayun Azad (1947-2004), Selina Hossain (b.
1947), Humayun Ahmed (1948-2012) and Imdadul Haq Milon (b. 1955). Among
them, Mahmudul Haq was a master of language and epitomized the war and
contemporary life in diction of modern poetry. His Anur Pathshala (1973), Nirapad
Tandra (1974), Jiban Amar Bone (1976), Khelaghar (1988), Kalo Baraf (1992) are
great novels. But in fact Elias occupies the top position of the age with his two
outstanding novels Chilekothar Sepai (1986) and Khoabnama (1996).
It was not only an age of political liberation but also of a cultural war for
achieving freedom from rigid conventions of Bengali society, especially in its attitude
toward sex; for example – the avant-garde Hungryalist movement took place in the
1960s, with which Samir Roy Chowdhury, his brother Malay Roy Chowdhury (b.
1939), Sakti Chattopadhyay and some other writers were involved. This period also
witnessed the rise of homosexuality in fiction; for example – in Buddhadev Guha’s
(b. 1936) works.
It was accompanied with a great struggle against the emerging
fundamentalism in Pakistan-ruled East Bengal. Especially Syed Waliullah (1922-
’71) will be remembered for his critical views about fundamentalist ideologies. His
Lalshalu (1948) achieved worldly acclaim. Showkat Osman was his ideological
comrade.