Introduction—Bangladeshi literature in English: A thrice- born tradition

Quayum, Mohammad Abdul and Hasan, Md. Mahmudul (2024) Introduction—Bangladeshi literature in English: A thrice- born tradition. In: Bangladeshi Literature in English: critical essays and interviews. Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon, pp. 1-10. ISBN 9781032670393

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Abstract

The use of the phrase “thrice-born” in the title of this introduction has connotations of uneasy or interrupted beginnings. Perhaps we should start by clarifying that “thrice-born” here bears no relation to the Sanskrit word dvija or “twice-born” or the title of Meenakshi Mukherjee’s (1971) book on Indian English novels, The Twice Born Fiction. Dvija is used in the Hindu social system to refer to the elitism and privilege of the three upper castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas. Mukherjee uses the term “twice-born” to explain the derivative and hybrid nature of Indian English fiction, in which Indian tropes, thoughts, and dialogues are “translated” into the colonizer’s speech. In contrast, we have used the expression “thrice-born” to suggest the evolutionary nature of Bangladeshi anglophone literature: that it has developed through three historical phases, during which the geographical territory that now constitutes Bangladesh has gone through several political rebirths and renamings: Bengal/East Bengal (1905–11), 1 East Pakistan (1947–71), and Bangladesh (1971–). To put it differently, although Bangladesh is a relatively new country, to gain a holistic picture of how the anglophone literary tradition has developed in this geographical space, one needs to look back to its beginnings during the British colonial period, take stock of English writings during the Pakistani phase, and, finally, investigate the state of the tradition and its challenges and achievements, especially after the country’s attainment of self-rule in 1971. This will help establish the nature of cultural continuity in a land that has gone through a political whirlwind since the colonial era and been subjected to changes of political identity on multiple occasions.

Item Type:	Book Chapter
Additional Information:	6409/116911
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Bangladeshi literature, English, thrice-born tradition
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PE English P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of English Language & Literature
Depositing User:	Dr. Md. Mahmudul Hasan
Date Deposited:	22 Jan 2025 12:42
Last Modified:	22 Jan 2025 15:14
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/116911

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