Willem VAN SCHENDEL, a History of Bangladesh. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009

832 Book Reviews / JESHO 55 (2012) 821-868 Willem VAN SCHENDEL, A History of Bangladesh. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. xxvi + 347 pp. ISBN: 978-0- 521-86174-8 (hbk.); 978-0-521-67974-9 (pbk.). £15.99, $24.99 (pbk.) / £40.00, $80.00 (hbk). Willem Van Schendel’s A History of Bangladesh is aimed at telling a very long story within the span of 282 pages, and as such it would not be unjust to presume that the attempt is rather ambitious. But, after having gone through the book, it must be said that the innovativeness of the approach of the author has successfully recounted the story to his readers in the wider world where ‘Bangladesh is a new name for an old land’ and ‘chiefly known in the West through media images of poverty, underdevelopment and natural disasters’. It is obvious that the author has rather arbitrarily chosen his sections, quite in an unconventional manner, in order to tell the story in his own way. At some places, Van Schendel is very brief and concise, while at others he delves quite elaborately to make the birth of a nation intelligible to his readers, whom he has taken to be little knowl- edgeable about the basic historical process of the emergence of Bangladesh. For them the author’s success must be acknowledged with due accolade. But to an audience, who is aware of the vast literature of South Asian history, and particularly of the literature on the history of Bengal, of which Bangladesh is a major part, the book might appear to be a little slovenly woven story for the beginners. Van Schendel readily acknowledges such in his introduction, attempting to portray the ‘amazing twists and turns that have produced contemporary Bangladeshi society’. The short sketches of the key political figures since 1947 and the glossary of Bengali terms at the end of the book will be very useful for readers from outside the region. Starting his ‘Prologue’ with the geo-physical determinism, playing a part in creating a basic distinctive nature of the people of ‘Bengal Delta’, he shifts to the multitude of issues, themes, observations, and analysis that this book accommodates. Four broad categories of emphasis are discern- ible: the ecology of the Ganges Delta, political developments both in the pre-colonial and colonial periods, and economic and cultural issues. The author sees remarkable dynamism in each of these categories from a per- spective of the ‘frontier’. In other words, the Bengal delta which corre- sponds to today’s Bangladesh is presented here not only as a geographical, but also as a cultural and economic frontier through which the region’s historical developments can be best appreciated. Ecology is a key point of reference for A History of Bangladesh, which is reflected in the author’s © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2012 DOI: 10.1163/15685209-12341249 Book Reviews / JESHO 55 (2012) 821-868 833 use of the term Bengal delta interchangeably with Bangladesh. Ecology in the book is infused as a dynamic ingredient to the broader historical developments in the country, both in its formative and destructive role for the region. High density of population in a small country like Bangladesh combined with ecological constraints has led to numerous social and economic problems, and the impact of these dual dynamics on the environ- ment has been so immense that the author remains inconclusive about whether the delta is headed for boom or bust (250). In Parts III to V, the author explains, in his own words, ‘what happened in the Bengal delta over the last several decades’—the Pakistan experience and then the four decades of Bangladesh experience. In one sense, the narrative cannot but be considered sweeping and to an uninitiated it may lead to ideas which may be considered far removed from realities on the ground. Van Schendel’s A History of Bangladesh is perhaps the first publication of its kind that brings such a long span of time within one cover. Further- more, in spite of the remarkable recent growth of South Asian studies in the West, Bangladesh has not really been given the attention it deserves. From that point of view, Van Schendel’s work is a very welcome addition and his very atypical style of narrative makes for a very interesting reading. Especially Part IV, ‘War and the Birth of Bangladesh’, appears to be a very balanced account of someone, who was not involved in the actions (both pro- and anti-liberation) and this detached view of a historian is of particu- lar interest to local readers, who had the pain and privilege of undergoing the birth prangs of a new nation. The vast literature that has grown over the years on this moment in Bangladesh’s history has a relative undertone of ‘nationalistic history’, which of course is very natural. But Van Schendel has the advantage of taking a detached view of things, which emanates from his long personal association with the country and his expertise, which he profitably, and to some extent with ingenuity, utilizes having gone through the existing literature on Bangladesh. His utilization of the published cartoons, remarkable photographs, or even postal stamp images tell many a story, which number of pages in words could hardly express. This approach is, of course, a novel method used in a serious academic ven- ture. In doing so, Van Schendel may be said to have made a breakthrough in the presentation aspect of academic writings, which makes it very interesting and at the same time thought-provoking. The author of the book clearly demonstrates his more than three decades of personal intimate acquaintance with the people and their history, .

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