The Colonel Who Would Not Repent

Mr. Salil Tripathi launched his book in the Gulmohar Hall at the India Habitat Centre recently. The Book is published by Aleph Publication. The Book- The Colonel Who Would Not Repent- the Bangladesh War And Its Unquiet Legacyis based in Bangladesh and how it suffered in the 1971 war in which it was estimated that 3 million people were killed. His book offers the reader an unforgettable portrait of a nation whose political history since independence is marked more by tragedy than by anything else.

In conversation with Basharat Peer

Mr. Tripathi introduced his book by reading an excerpt from it, following which he said, “This is in the week of one of the most important days in Bangladesh’s history. Yesterday, 16th December, was what Bangladesh called the Bijoy Diwas. The day on which the Pakistani Army surrendered. And two days before that there was a mass killing of the intellectuals. Many in India remember this war because of the sacrifices that India made. But far more sacrifices were made by people in Bangladesh and I wanted to learn more about it. That is what brought about this book”.

The introduction of the book and the author

The ‘Colonel’ in the topic is Colonel Syed Faruque Rahman, who played the principle role in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding President of Bangladesh. It’s not only the Colonel but everybody, who is in this elite situation. Its part of the problem and this is the point that the book makes.

The Colonel Who would not repent

In conversation with Salil, was Basharat Peer. Basharat is a journalist, an author and a political commentator and has written for many publications. Mr. Salil Tripathi had interviewed Colonel Syed Faruque Rahman and on being asked about what it was like to interview him, he said that the most stunning part was the lack of remorse. According to him there was no reflection of something that could have gone wrong. It seemed to him that the Colonel was still frozen in the year 1975 and what he did then was absolutely right and there was no need to reconsider from anything that happened.

Salil Tripathi explaining his boo

Salil Tripathi has been a correspondent in India, Singapore and Hong Kong and his work has been featured in several publications like the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The New Republic, The Guardian and India Today. He has won Bastiat Award for Journalism and Citibank Pan Asia Journalism Award for economic journalism.Currently he is a contributing editor at Mint and Caravan Magazine.