Published: 12:21 AM, 01 August 2026
Nineteen Seventy One: Tales of Gallantry, Dedication and Love
Writing about the lyrical ballad that 1971 conferred to us has always been a work of glory and self-exploration. What makes the stories in Rashid Askari’s “Nineteen Seventy One” so special is the essence of life we come across in these spectacular tales of sacrifice, bravery and patriotic vigour.
Rashid Askari named a few world classics in the preface of the anthology which illustrates the author’s love and lenience for reading and writing like a cormorant literature aficionado. The Canterbury Tales, Aesop’s Fables and Grimm’s Fairy Tales have been named in the book’s introductory chapter.
Rashid Askari acknowledges that Franz Kafka, Jack London, Anton Chekhov, James Joyce, O Henry etcetera deeply influenced him. We cannot actually isolate our lives from political vicissitudes around us. The female characters in these stories like Selina and Bilquis come across to us with the revolving political landscape that enclosed Bangladesh at certain intervals.
In particular Bashanti in the story titled The Virgin Whore reminds us of Sonia in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment and Erendira in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s celebrated short stories with classical literary impact.
Bashanti’s mettle stands out as a big slap on the faces of tyranny and misgovernance, evaluating the story from a broader perspective. The brutality of Pakistan Army in connivance with their local collaborators has been movingly narrated in stories titled Circumcision, The Poet, Jihad and Crossfire.
Rashid Askari has evocatively depicted that the Liberation War of 1971 is always relevant and the valiant discourse of fighting for the country’s independence never runs out of context. Rashid Askari has turned out to be another Homer reincarnated in the 21st century telling us stories of gallantry, dedication, love and self-esteem.
There are lessons about militancy and its ugly claws in another story which attempts to sharpen our vigilance so that youngsters don’t become extremist gunslingers. The book Nineteen Seventy One contains 144 pages and it was delivered to readers by Rubric Publishers, New Delhi during 2019.
Rashid Askari is a versatile scholar when it comes to teaching English language and literature in Bangladesh. He has so far authored hundreds of articles for English newspapers and magazines. During his decorated professional career, Rashid Askari was Vice Chancellor of Islamic University, Kushtia and he also held the echelon of Director General at Bangla Academy.
Mahfuz Ul Hasib is a contributor to different
English newspapers and magazines.
