Away from Dhaka-centric literary sphere: Minnat Ali’s Kafoner Lekha, Bengal’s anti-colonial revolutions and Khairabadi

Hasan, Md. Mahmudul (2026) Away from Dhaka-centric literary sphere: Minnat Ali’s Kafoner Lekha, Bengal’s anti-colonial revolutions and Khairabadi. In: Confluence of Words and Worlds: Essays in Honour of Professor Niaz Zaman. The University Press Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. 144-167. ISBN 978 984 506 544 3

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Abstract

Bangladesh has many creative chroniclers who have narrativised our experiences and provided us with accounts of our national and regional identities. In Kafoner Lekha, Minnat Ali tells a story that takes place at a time when Bangladesh did not exist in its current form. However, the Great Rebellion 1857-58 event took off in what is now Bangladesh and sparked an uprising across the Indian subcontinent. Towards the end of the uprising, the cruelty and savagery exhibited by the British cost tens of thousands of native lives and the collective humiliation of the people of this region. It opened a new political era which would end in 1947 at the expense of many more lives. Thus, the history of this land is fraught with pre- and post-1947 violence and bloodshed. It is the responsibility of our writers and artists to engage in creative activities to represent us and to have the last word on our collective past. Given Minnat Ali’s and my roots in Brahmanbaria, reading his work gives me delight and makes me feel at home. I am gratified that he was committed to the artistic calling of representing us and participated in literary activities while living in Brahmanbaria. I anticipate many such literary voices emerging from my district.

Item Type:	Book Chapter
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PI Oriental languages and literatures 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 > Department of English Language & Literature Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences
Depositing User:	Dr. Md. Mahmudul Hasan
Date Deposited:	09 Jun 2026 15:09
Last Modified:	09 Jun 2026 15:09
Queue Number:	2026-05-Q3602
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/129192

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