Film

The Bangladesh Story is an interview based documentary directed by Faris Kermani which tells the story of how Bangladesh was created. It was broadcasted on Channel 4 of UK in January, 1989.  The doc is divided in 3 episodes. The total runtime is just over an hour. Here is the short description of the documentary – The Bangladesh Story:

Episode 1 – Under Three Flags: Bengal was the heartland of British India, and in 1947 it became the east wing of Pakistan, after much violence. East Pakistanis felt they still suffered from domination by their west wing, and Pakistan’s first general election in 1970 confirmed this. A second Bengali bid for independence resulted in nationhood.

Episode 2 – The Mujib Years: The East Bengali majority in the 1970 election caused a civil war which shocked the world. The superpowers stayed on the sidelines, but the intervention of the Indian army ensured the existence of Bangladesh. Mujibur Rahman took power, but lost popular support within three years, and a new period of government by the armed forces began.

Episode 3 – Military Rules: 80% of the population has dropped below the poverty line, while rulers come and go, usually through violent coups. The last programme in the series looks at some different people’s attempts to find solutions to their country’s problems.

A theme song that connected all three parts is great! I really enjoyed the doc. It is a simple version but felt kind of nostalgic about the story. Someone uploaded a low-res version of this wonderful doc in YouTube.

If you want to buy the original DVD from the director, please contact Mr. Faris Kermani directly. He is the head of Crescent Films.