Labyrinth: Volume-5, No.2 April-2014 Abstract: Keywords: 1971: Fiction and History Vikarun Nessa Freedom is coveted, only when it is fought for. It is this specific reason which makes Bangladeshi Liberation war glorious for people of Bangladesh. It needs to be stated that, Bangladesh's road to independence was traumatic but priceless. Even though, everyone wants to be free and Bangladesh was united in its struggle for independence, yet in fiction and history reaction towards independence has differed. This article aims to show the different reactions or perspective towards Liberation war of Bangladesh through the two primary texts; 1971 and After, which is a small anthology of short stories written about or the aftermath of Liberation war and Ekattorer Chithi,(Letters of 1971) a factual account of Liberation war, which is a collection of letters written by freedom fighters and their families. The short stories of 1971 and After and letters from Ekattorer Chithi show different perspectives or point of views towards Liberation war; depending on the author's and writer's sensibilities and sympathies. This article's aim is to create a bridge between fiction and history and show how Bangladesh's Liberation war got documented in them Fiction, History, Liberation, Perspective I Any fictional account of war is always two fold; one from the perspective of the oppressors and another from the perspective of the oppressed Therefore, for Bangladeshi people the war of 1971 was a fight for independence, for the then West Pakistani rulers it was a 'civil war' or a 'mutiny' that needed to be pacified. The stories of this article though are fictional tales of this 'brutish' pacification yet, they are accounted for in the historical document Ekattorer Chithi, (Letters of 1971) which gives the stories credibility. In some stories victory is celebrated while in others mourning for loss of lives and dignity becomes prominent. But the most important purpose these short stories serve is; they document the history of Bangladeshi Liberation war in a fictional yet genuine way. On the other hand, Ekattorer Chithi, is a factual account that tells the tale of Bangladesh's road to freedom. It is also a testimony of or back up for this article's fictional narratives II This article follows the basic critical concepts of the Chicago School of New Criticism in the examination of the social order and the realism of the subjective experience in and through narrative. The aim of this method is total objectivity and emphasis on having strong evidence for critical appreciation. As mentioned before, the stories of 1971 and After, narrate the events of liberation war from different points of view. The first story that this article explicates is Nineteen Seventy

One & by Humayun 1 (2014). Labyrinth: Volume-5, No.2 April-2014 Abstract: Keywords: 1971: Fiction and History Vikarun Nessa Freedom is coveted, only when it is fought for. It is this specific reason which makes Bangladeshi Liberation war glorious for people of Bangladesh. It needs to be stated that, Bangladesh's road to independence was traumatic but priceless. Even though, everyone wants to be free and Bangladesh was united in its struggle for independence, yet in fiction and history reaction towards independence has differed. This article aims to show the different reactions or perspective towards Liberation war of Bangladesh through the two primary texts; 1971 and After, which is a small anthology of short stories written about or the aftermath of Liberation war and Ekattorer Chithi,(Letters of 1971) a factual account of Liberation war, which is a collection of letters written by freedom fighters and their families. The short stories of 1971 and After and letters from Ekattorer Chithi show different perspectives or point of views towards Liberation war; depending on the author's and writer's sensibilities and sympathies. This article's aim is to create a bridge between fiction and history and show how Bangladesh's Liberation war got documented in them Fiction, History, Liberation, Perspective I Any fictional account of war is always two fold; one from the perspective of the oppressors and another from the perspective of the oppressed Therefore, for Bangladeshi people the war of 1971 was a fight for independence, for the then West Pakistani rulers it was a 'civil war' or a 'mutiny' that needed to be pacified. The stories of this article though are fictional tales of this 'brutish' pacification yet, they are accounted for in the historical document Ekattorer Chithi, (Letters of 1971) which gives the stories credibility. In some stories victory is celebrated while in others mourning for loss of lives and dignity becomes prominent. But the most important purpose these short stories serve is; they document the history of Bangladeshi Liberation war in a fictional yet genuine way. On the other hand, Ekattorer Chithi, is a factual account that tells the tale of Bangladesh's road to freedom. It is also a testimony of or back up for this article's fictional narratives II This article follows the basic critical concepts of the Chicago School of New Criticism in the examination of the social order and the realism of the subjective experience in and through narrative. The aim of this method is total objectivity and emphasis on having strong evidence for critical appreciation. As mentioned before, the stories of 1971 and After, narrate the events of liberation war from different points of view. The first story that this article explicates is Nineteen Seventy. Labyrinth, 5(2).