Bangladesh in Anglophone and Vernacular Literature
Cultural Imaginings of a Postcolonial Nation
Book •
Asif Iqbal's Bangladesh in Anglophone and Vernacular Literature analyzes how novels in English and Bengali represent the historical junctures shaping Bangladesh, including the 1947 Partition, East Pakistan's politics, and the 1971 Liberation War. The book juxtaposes Anglophone and vernacular texts to reveal overlooked local events and subaltern life-worlds, arguing for a plural, contested understanding of Bangladeshi nationhood.
Iqbal uses a 'cultural imaginaries' method to let diverse narrative worlds converse, highlighting themes like Muslim nationalism, minoritization, gendered violence, and regional geopolitics.
By bringing East Pakistan into literary study, the work seeks interdisciplinary relevance across history, political science, and postcolonial studies.
Published in Routledge's Asian Literature/Studies series, it foregrounds neglected Bengali novels alongside well-known Anglophone works to broaden understandings of South Asian modernity.
Iqbal uses a 'cultural imaginaries' method to let diverse narrative worlds converse, highlighting themes like Muslim nationalism, minoritization, gendered violence, and regional geopolitics.
By bringing East Pakistan into literary study, the work seeks interdisciplinary relevance across history, political science, and postcolonial studies.
Published in Routledge's Asian Literature/Studies series, it foregrounds neglected Bengali novels alongside well-known Anglophone works to broaden understandings of South Asian modernity.
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Raj Balkharan
Asif Iqbal, "Bangladesh in Anglophone and Vernacular Literature: Cultural Imaginings of a Postcolonial Nation" (Routledge, 2025)
