The 1971 War and Saleem’s Complicity

This flow traces Saleem’s role in military repression, his flight into the Sundarbans, and the guilt that follows his return.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Divided Pakistan

Election Crisis Results Sheikh Mujib’s Awami League wins overwhelmingly in the East Wing, while Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s party dominates the West. Breakdown Yahya Khan and Bhutto fail to reach a settlement with Mujib, setting the stage for force.

Operation Searchlight

Repression in Dacca Deployment CUTIA units and disguised troops move into Dacca under military orders. Arrest Saleem’s tracking leads the force to Sheikh Mujib, whose arrest accompanies violence against civilians and institutions.

Flight into the Forest

Desertion Choice Unable to continue serving the occupation, Saleem leads his companions into the Sundarbans. Consequence The unit escapes immediate orders but enters a landscape that forces each man to confront guilt and memory.

The Jungle’s Reckoning

Memory and Responsibility Visions The forest exposes the soldiers to accusing apparitions and memories of families harmed by their work. Recovery A snakebite restores Saleem’s memories, but his return does not undo his role in repression.

War’s Human Cost

A Field of Dead Evidence Saleem and Shaheed find a field of corpses and hear accounts of the coming Indian victory. Loss Shaheed dies after a grenade explosion, while Saleem enters Dacca as the war ends.

1970 to March 1971

March 25, 1971

Spring 1971

Spring to October 1971

December 1971