Bangladesh Nationhood: Symbols and Shadows

dir. Michael Camerini and Mira Reyn Binford. This film presents a fascinating look at the founding and early years of this Bengali nation east of India. In 1947, the British has partitioned West and East Pakistan away from India, primarily because the majority of the population was Islamic. The Easterners, though, were Bengali, and saw themselves as a separate culture from their western counterparts. Finally, in 1970, a bloody guerilla war broke out in East Pakistan, finally ending when Indian troops took over the nation in 1971. In December of that year, Bangladesh was declared a sovereign nation, led by Sheikh Mujib Rehman’s Awami League party. Mujib, considered by many to be the father of his country, had been imprisoned in West Pakistan, and returned home a hero. He defined a program, soon known as "Mujibism", which characterized the new country as being led by four principles: Nationalism, Socialism, Secularism, and Democracy. Was he successful? Interviews, which make up a good portion of the film, indicate varying opinions, but Mujib himself would never come to a definitive conclusion: he was assassinated several months after this film was made.