Nipa

Nipa is the inspirational story of a self-reliant and determined female freedom fighter who actively helps fight the war of liberation for her country, Bangladesh - which in 1971 was East Pakistan - against the occupying forces of West Pakistan. Nipa, a medical student at Dhaka Medical College, takes up arms in the fight and is martyred just before Bangladesh is declared a sovereign state.

In this biographical novel, the author describes the breathtaking events of 1971 through the eyes of Nipa and her compatriots. Accompanied by her co-warriors and disguised as a man, Nipa travels to East Pakistan's Kaliganj sector, where members of the Gomez family shelter and nurse her, and join her liberation fight. She trains the villagers to engage in armed guerrilla warfare and is later killed during an air raid.

This story of Nipa and the Bangladeshi war of independence was originally published in Bengali. Following translation for the wider English-speaking public, it was edited by Deb Doyle and re-set in the present tense so both the narrative and the dialogue are immediate and palpable.

Anyone interested in war literature, the role of women in warfare and/or freedom fighters, especially female warriors, will find inspiration in this testimonial account of the suffering entailed in both loss and victory. Its spirit of patriotism and of valuing the human spirit in the quest for liberty will be motivational for all readers, irrespective of their gender, race, ethnicity or nationality.