Hastantar 3 by Shankar Ghosh [Hardcover]

The life of a political journalist often provides opportunities to meet many national leaders, sharp diplomats, and internationally renowned statesmen, sometimes building close relationships with them. Veteran journalist Shankar Ghosh, now elderly, recalls history vividly as he looks back on his past.

The third and final part of his book "Hastantar" covers the period from 1963 to 1997. However, like a flowing river, the timeline includes events before India's independence and incidents from after 1997. Significant events during this period include the rise and fall of the United Front, the end of the Naxalite movement, the declaration of the Emergency, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the Left Front coming to power in West Bengal, and the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. The most notable event in this period is the uprising in East Pakistan and the birth of independent Bangladesh, which marked a significant event in international politics. The liberation war of Bangladesh saw not only the defeat of Pakistan but also of American diplomacy and its policy in South Asia.

One of the most ironic incidents of this period was the attempt to hand over the governance of India to the lifelong communist leader Jyoti Basu, which he might have agreed to, but his party objected. The communists, who once denounced the transfer of power in 1947 as "false independence," were ironically offered the position of Prime Minister of that so-called false independent country half a century later. Through the analytical vision of this veteran journalist, the history of the past and recent past comes to life. The three parts of "Hastantar" together form a long exploration of political history.