Fault Lines is the first anthology containing stories from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, the United States and the United Kingdom on the theme of 1971. It obliges readers from the subcontinent to ask pertinent questions about their own history. What was a Pakistani soldier thinking when he was ordered to shoot unarmed women and children? How do women who fare worst in times of turmoil and tyranny cope when they become helpless victims of atrocities? Were all Bengalis brave? Were all army men evil?

Discover quiet heroism in the painful tales from a turbulent time as the writers try to come to grips with 1971 and beyond. The anthology should be essential reading for those interested in that period as well as in riveting fiction.

The insightful introduction by the co-editors draws upon their personal experiences in 1971, and suggests the context of these writings. Three more stories have been added in this revised and extended edition.

Contents:

Introduction
1. The Sin of Innocence ( Umme Umara)
2. Fork Lift No. 352 (Asad Mohammad Khan)
3. Versions of Truth (Masood Ashar)
4. Sleep (Masud Mufti)
5. Headless (Afsan Chowdhury)
6. A Lucky Escape (Niaz Zaman)
7. A Day in Bushan’s Life (Hasan Azizul Huq)
8. Nineteen Seventy-One (Humayun Ahmed)
9.  Double War (Selina Hossain)
10. Jesus 1971 (Shahriar Kabir)
11. She Knew the Use of Chilli Powder (Shaheen Akhtar)
12. An Accidental Death (Akhteruzzaman Elias)
13. Going to War (Syed Manzoorul Islam)
14. The Daughter (Saleha Chowdhury)
15. Half Skeleton (Ahmad Salim)
16. Expelled (Asif Farrukhi)
17. Traitor (Mohan Kalpana)
18. The Year of the Iron Dog (Neeman Sobhan)
19. Bingo (Tariq Rahman)
20. The Bill (Shaukat Osman)
21. The Killing Fields of 1971 (Saleem Akhtar)
22. The Last Encounter (Kazi Fazlur Rahman)
23. Godhra Camp (Naeem Aarvi)
24. Returning Home: 1972 (Purabi Basu)
25. An Ilish Story (Khademul Islam)
26. The Double Deal (Ahmad Sa'adi)
27. British Graves (Hassan Manzar)
28. A Grave Turned Inside-Out (Ibrahim Jalees)
29. The Travellers (Gholam Mohammad)
30. I Am Game (Sultan Jamil Nasim)
31. What Price Honour? (Rizia Rahman)
32. Karima (Aamer Hussein)
33. Why Does Durgati Weep? (Parag Chowdhury)
34. Angela (Bharati Mukherjee)
35. The Ghost of the Razakar (Manju Sarkar)
36. The Heir to a Severed Arm (Amar Jaleel)
37. The City of Sorrows (Intizar Hussain)
38. Confrontation (Rashid Haider)
39. Thoo Thoo (Qaiser Qasri)
40. Flotsam (Makbula Manzoor)
Writers and Translators