سقوطِ مشرقی پاکستان کا واقعہ اور تاریخ نویسی

Abstract

The separation of East Pakistan (1971) has left a deep affect on the psyche of the people of Pakistan. Individuals who actually participated in the event, or those affected by the separation, wrote their experiences in the form of autobiography and memoirs. The importance of autobiography and memories can hardly be overvalued as a form of historical writings and as a source material for historians. The value of the work depends on the objectivity of the author, his first-hand knowledge and understanding, and his attitude to the issue. Even when there is a possibility of one sided interpretation of historical data as a result of the personal involvement of the author, autobiography and memoirs still remain the valuable material for historians, especially for shedding light on controversial issues. In this paper two accounts have been selected written by the individuals belonging to different background that have participated in the event and had intimate knowledge of the debacle. Through these works, this paper aims to understand the effects of the event of 1971 on the history writing and tried to highlight the biases, source material and its interpretations by the people of different background.