BANGLADESH NEWS
Audience of a programme in Dhaka watched Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina trying to control her emotions on Tuesday while her sister Sheikh Rehana was in tears after getting the printed versions of their father's unfinished autobiography.
"It was ours to date, but it belongs to people now," Hasina said at a programme at Ganabhaban marking the release of "Ausamapta Atmajiboni" and its English version "The Unfinished Memoirs" by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
"Every time I read the copies, they make me nostalgic," she said.
"It was very painful to hand over the diary," she said.
The University Press Limited (UPL) has published the diary, in the form of book, written by Sheikh Mujib during his time in jail through 1967-69.
Hasina said she wrote the preamble in jail during the military-backed caretaker government's tenure.
She seemed unable to speak for some time while throwing light on the contents of the book.
"It's in the same condition as he (Sheikh Mujib) had written. We didn't touch anything," she said.
"There are many names [in it], which one might think should not have been there. But we didn't drop. History is history," she added.
Rehana said, "There should be something to be left behind. We allowed it be published for this very thought. We should enlighten the new generations."
Hasina handed over copies of both versions of the autobiography to Prof Salauddin Ahmed, whose suggestions helped them publish the book.
Shamsuzzaman Khan and A N M Mahfuza Khatun Baby Maudud also did some editing to give the book a contemporary look while Prof Fakhrul Alam translated it into English.
Hasina's Deputy Press Secretary Moninur Nesa Ninu typed the book. "Baby [Maudud] and I dictated and Ninu typed," Hasina said.
A press release issued by UPL a few days back said: "In his memoirs, Bangabandhu describes the context of writing it, and then he takes us back to the beginning – his lineage, birth and childhood, days in school and college, and social and political involvements."
"The book progresses to recount the historical events the great leader experienced standing in the forefront – famine, communal riots in Kolkata and Bihar, partition, politics of Kolkata-centric State Muslim Student League and Muslim League, Pakistan central government's discriminatory attitude and the Agartala conspiracy," it said.
The book also had contents on all integral aspects of Sheikh Mujib's life in and out of prison, his parents, wife and children, and kin, the release said.
The Penguin Books, India, and Oxford University Press, Pakistan had also collaborated with UPL to publish the book simultaneously in India and Pakistan, it said.
The books carry price tags of Tk 525 and Tk 1,200 for Bengali and English editions, respectively. The deluxe editions would cost Tk 650 for Bengali and Tk 1,500 for English.
The Oxford University Press has also finalised an Urdu translation of The Unfinished Memoirs to be published in July.
Born in Tungipara village of Gopalganj district in 1920, Sheikh Mujib became the Father of the Nation, who fought the war for independence against Pakistan in 1971.
After the independence, Mujib became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the new country. During the Liberation War, he had been kept in jail in the then West Pakistan. He was also president of the wartime government named after him, the Mujibnagar Government.
On Aug 15 1975, some army personnel shot him dead, along with most of the members of his family. His daughters Hasina and Rehana survived as they were outside the country that day.
"It was ours to date, but it belongs to people now," Hasina said at a programme at Ganabhaban marking the release of "Ausamapta Atmajiboni" and its English version "The Unfinished Memoirs" by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
"Every time I read the copies, they make me nostalgic," she said.
"It was very painful to hand over the diary," she said.
The University Press Limited (UPL) has published the diary, in the form of book, written by Sheikh Mujib during his time in jail through 1967-69.
Hasina said she wrote the preamble in jail during the military-backed caretaker government's tenure.
She seemed unable to speak for some time while throwing light on the contents of the book.
"It's in the same condition as he (Sheikh Mujib) had written. We didn't touch anything," she said.
"There are many names [in it], which one might think should not have been there. But we didn't drop. History is history," she added.
Rehana said, "There should be something to be left behind. We allowed it be published for this very thought. We should enlighten the new generations."
Hasina handed over copies of both versions of the autobiography to Prof Salauddin Ahmed, whose suggestions helped them publish the book.
Shamsuzzaman Khan and A N M Mahfuza Khatun Baby Maudud also did some editing to give the book a contemporary look while Prof Fakhrul Alam translated it into English.
Hasina's Deputy Press Secretary Moninur Nesa Ninu typed the book. "Baby [Maudud] and I dictated and Ninu typed," Hasina said.
A press release issued by UPL a few days back said: "In his memoirs, Bangabandhu describes the context of writing it, and then he takes us back to the beginning – his lineage, birth and childhood, days in school and college, and social and political involvements."
"The book progresses to recount the historical events the great leader experienced standing in the forefront – famine, communal riots in Kolkata and Bihar, partition, politics of Kolkata-centric State Muslim Student League and Muslim League, Pakistan central government's discriminatory attitude and the Agartala conspiracy," it said.
The book also had contents on all integral aspects of Sheikh Mujib's life in and out of prison, his parents, wife and children, and kin, the release said.
The Penguin Books, India, and Oxford University Press, Pakistan had also collaborated with UPL to publish the book simultaneously in India and Pakistan, it said.
The books carry price tags of Tk 525 and Tk 1,200 for Bengali and English editions, respectively. The deluxe editions would cost Tk 650 for Bengali and Tk 1,500 for English.
The Oxford University Press has also finalised an Urdu translation of The Unfinished Memoirs to be published in July.
Born in Tungipara village of Gopalganj district in 1920, Sheikh Mujib became the Father of the Nation, who fought the war for independence against Pakistan in 1971.
After the independence, Mujib became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the new country. During the Liberation War, he had been kept in jail in the then West Pakistan. He was also president of the wartime government named after him, the Mujibnagar Government.
On Aug 15 1975, some army personnel shot him dead, along with most of the members of his family. His daughters Hasina and Rehana survived as they were outside the country that day.
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