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memoirs of huseyn shaheed suhrawardsy with a brief account of his life and work
this book contains the memoirs of huseyn shaheed suhrawardy one of indo pakistan subcontinents leading politicians the chief minister of united bengal before independence and the prime minister of pakistan in 1956 . they are the first draft of what would have been a much larger work had not death overtaken him in december 1963 . in addition the editor mohammad talukdar has added a brief account of suhrawardys life . br the memoirs provide some valuable insights into suhrawardys politics and personality . he was born in 1892 and began his political career as an associate of the great liberal nationalist leader of bengal c.r. das . after dass death in 1925 and in the wake of the growing divide between the hindu and muslim communities suhrawardy was drawn to muslim separatist politics . he was a prominent muslim league leader and it was chiefly due to his dynamic leadership that the muslim league won its spectacular victory in the elections of 1946 . however the great calcutta killings in 1946 and subsequent communal riots in many parts of india wrought a radical change in his outlook as he began to realize the dangerous implications of communal politics . br he eventually returned to secular politics and this transformation is fully reflected in the united bengal scheme propounded by him and other leaders such as sarat bose . although this move failed suhrawardys greatness is reflected in the fact that he had the wisdom to learn from experience . in 1947 at the height of the communal violence and during the early days of partition he worked with mahatma gandhi in his peace mission . br after independence suhrawardy believed that pakistan and india should be guided by the modern concepts of secularism and democracy . this was also the view taken by m.a. jinnah founder of pakistan . in his memoirs suhrawardy describes how he fought to establish a democratic regime in pakistan but how the army sought to perpetuate its rule by various means even detaining him in prison in 1962 . these memoirs serve as an object lesson in light of the contemporary situation in pakistan and bangladesh .
hardcover oxford university press usa 2009 isbn13 9780195477221 isbn10 0195477227
abridged n isbn 13 9780195477221 number in series 1 number of pages 249 publisher oxford university press release date 62135769600000