Desh Hariye Jay by Partha Dey [Hardcover]

"Some people have a country. Some lose it. After the partition, the first generation of refugees experienced the pain of losing their country. Uprooting and creating roots in new soil is very difficult. The stigma and lifelong struggle associated with the term 'refugee' drag on for a long time.

In the last week of December 1963, a strand of Prophet Muhammad's beard was stolen from the Hazratbal Shrine in Kashmir, India. From January 2, 1964, this event triggered a week-long riot in several cities, including Khulna in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), leading to the death of around a thousand Hindus. The main story revolves around two Hindu families in Khulna—the family of the goldsmith Chintaharan Addya and the tailor Sashadhar Mandal. The primary timeline of this story is from 1963 to 1980. This novel tries to paint a fragmented picture of that turbulent time, the events of those seventeen years, a period of rebellion.

What is a country? Why? Is a country merely a collection of people? If so, why are people within the country often neglected? This book will perhaps evoke numerous questions and doubts in your mind."