When The Earth Trembled

1. Social scientist, artist, internationalist and patriot, Professor Haider Khan’s concise analytical account of Bangladesh’s national liberation movement captures its life and death struggles for freedom, culminating half a century ago. His tome should also contribute to efforts of patriots and friends of Bangladesh to improve its people’s wellbeing. Khan’s analytical insights are also likely to catalyze debates relevant to the times we live in. Jomo Kwame Sundaram, former UN Assistant Secretary-General and emeritus professor Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought in 2007

2. When the Earth Trembled is a fascinating discussion on the rise and ambiguous achievements of the Bangladesh Liberation Movement. Professor Haider A. Khan tells a metastory by referring to multiple stories and accounts of the same events. While this metastory is also about martyrs and heroes and the moments of despair and cowardice, it involves developing the concept of “polyphonic prose-poetry of revolutionary mass movements”. Although When the Earth Trembled highlights the domestic, internal contradictions as primary and determinant, it sees the dynamic of the Bangladeshi developments as interwoven with the wordwide aspirations of 1968. It is these tensions, the idea of the Eventualizing Dynamics, and the ultimate future-orientation that make the book so rewarding. Heikki Patomaki, University of Helsinki