The book examines the factors leading to India's partition, Pakistan's creation, the Bangladesh War of Independence, and Pakistan's breakup. It discusses the social, cultural, political, and economic challenges faced by Pakistan, including the rise of an elite-dominated bureaucracy and exclusion of East Pakistan from state affairs. The treatise also examines the two economies formula proposed by Bangali economists and the Six Points Programme, which laid the groundwork for Bangladesh's independence. The author questions whether the breakup of Pakistan was inevitable, arguing that Pakistan's failure to build democratic institutions that respected the cultural distinctiveness of the Bangalis and provided them with equal government benefits made it inevitable.
The book delves into the formation of Bangladesh, arguing that Pakistan's failure to establish democratic institutions and practices led to its eventual breakup and emergence of Bangladesh. An enthralling journey to the depth of Bangladesh’s history of independence. National Professor, Ph.D in History from the University of London, Barrister-at-Law from Lincoln’s Inn, was Professor of History and VC of the University of Chittagong. Appointed as University Grants Commission Professor in 2008, Professor Emeritus in 2012 and National Professor in 2021.
He was also a Nuffield Foundation Fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, and Visiting Professor at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. He has received a number of awards including Atish Dipankar Award and Ekushay Padak. Authored several books as well as numerous articles in scholarly journals including, among others, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, London and Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Leiden.