The Black Coat

লেখকঃ নেয়ামত ইমাম

প্রকাশনীঃ Hamish Hamilton/ Penguin Books

প্রকাশকালঃ ২২ মে, ২০১৩

The novel tells the story of journalist Khaleque Biswas and his protege Nur Hussain. After Khaleque loses his job with the Freedom Fighter, he trains Nur only to turn him into a fake Sheikh Mujib. Sheikh Mujib was the leader of the Bangladesh Liberation War and Prime Minister of the country in its post-independence period. Khaleque and Nur start earning money using the blind nationalistic fervour of their countrymen during the Bangladesh famine of 1974 when thousands of people died from starvation and Sheikh Mujib began to lose his popularity.

Nur recites the famous 7th March Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, trying to popularise Sheikh Mujib and his party the Awami League. But after observing the sufferings of Bangladeshi people during the famine, he begins to criticise Sheikh Mujib. At the height of that criticism, he calls Sheikh Mujib a ‘monster’ and a ‘disgrace’.