UNDER SUCH A SHELTERING SKY

UNDER SUCH A SHELTERING SKY

Sarmila Bose

The year is 1971. After decades of military rule, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his Awami League has won a landslide victory in the first election based on universal franchise in Pakistan. But the euphoria is short-lived. Instead of handing over power to the winner, the military regime cracks down on the Eastern Wing of the country to crush the movement for the liberation of Bangladesh. A brutal conflict follows pittng West against East, turning neighbours against each other, dividing friends and families and igniting war between India and Pakistan. Two young men find themselves caught up in the tumultuous events of that year on opposite sides of the war. One is battling to preserve the unity of Pakistan, the other is fighting for an independent Bangladesh. Their paths cross in unpredictable ways in the chaos of war. As at first one side and then the other side gains the upper hand; at critical moments each man would hold the other’s life in his hands. What would they do? And what are the consequences of the choices they make?