Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan? - Softcover

Karlekar, Hiranmay

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761934014 ISBN 13: 9780761934011

Publisher: SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd, 2006

Synopsis

This lucid, hard-hitting and well-documented book analyzes in detail the circumstances-historical, social, cultural and political-which account for the rise of violent Islamist fundamentalism in Bangladesh, a country known for its cultural plurality and religious tolerance. The author also discusses the chances of halting the process, through a determined and well-strategized effort by those committed to keeping Bangladesh a moderate and tolerant modern Islamic nation.

About this title

About the Author:

Hiranmay Karlekar, a distinguished Indian journalist, is Consultant Editor of The Pioneer and, currently, a member of the Animal Welfare Board of India, India’s apex governmental body dealing with animal welfare. Mr Karlekar frequently writes on animals in his column which appears in The Pioneer every Thursday and has also written about them in The Tribune and the Outlook magazine.

A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard (Class of 1967), Mr Karlekar, in his career as a journalist spanning four-and-a-half decades, has been Editor of Hindustan Times, Deputy Editor of The Indian Express, and Assistant Editor of The Statesman and the Hindusthan Standard, an erstwhile publication of the Ananda Bazar Patrika group in Kolkata. Starting his journalistic career with Ananda Bazar Patrika as a Staff reporter in 1963, Mr Karlekar has also been Associate Editor of Aajkaal published from Kolkata.

A member of the Press Council of India in two stints during 1978–80 and 2004–07, Mr Karlekar has been a General Secretary of the Editors Guild of India, a member of the Board of Directors of the Press Trust of India, one of India’s two national news agencies, and a nominee of the Editors Guild in the Central Press Accreditation Committee of the Government of India.

Apart from his innumerable journalistic writings, Mr Karlekar’s publications include two Bengali Novels, Bhabisyater Ateet (1994) and Mehrunnisa (1995), the latter based on Bangladesh’s Liberation struggle, a socio-political work in English, In the Mirror of Mandal: Social Justice, Caste, Class and the Individual (1992), and Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan? (2005). He edited―and contributed two chapters to―Independent India: The First Fifty Years (1998), an anthology of essays published to mark 50 years of India’s independence. Mr Karlekar is a keen photographer.

Review:

`This book should ring a warning bell for policymakers in the South Block. If you do not agree, read Karlekar′s chilling tale of the death of Mjuibur′s dream - and that of many others who naively believed in it′ - Kanchan Gupta, India Today

`The book unravels how the hate matrix has found a place in a culturally vibrant society that just two decades back asked for freedom from the shackles of an oppressive regime′ - Anju Kumar, The Hindu

`Dubbed a hotbed of terrorism across the world, Bangladesh is under the spotlight. Hiranmay Karlekar′s timely book tackles the issue with depth and insight... A must read for strategic thinkers and those involved in watching India′s neighbourhood′ - Tehelka

`The author argues that the headquarters of Islamic terrorism is shifting from Afghanistan to Bangladesh, which he describes as a soft state with an ineffective government and a weak police force′ - The Pioneer

`Karlekar has a long experience of reporting on Bangladesh. His book resonates with this experience and with a wealth of details, and will help fill the vacuum of information on Bangladesh and it′s crisis of fundamentalism′ - The India Express

About this edition

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0761934014
• ISBN 13: 9780761934011
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 308