Son of the Soil

This is a significant, well-written and revised edition of the bestselling Bangla novel Bhumiputra. The translation has come at an appropriate juncture in the life of the Indian Muslim. This is admirable due to the many aspects of historic anti-Islam feelings prevalent within some areas of our public life. This exceptional book covers anguish, hurt and pain of an average Muslim in its many forms and more importantly reflects and gives us hope. A must read if you want to understand the feelings of a pure Muslim, his ideals and dreams. Kamal the protagonist of this book is hurt by the anti-Islam uttering of Bankim in the Anandamatha; he is also not in agreement with many of the dictums of Islam. This inner fighting of Kamal gets vivid expressions in this novel. A vast majority of well educated people amongst us are ignorant of what has happened to the Muslims in independent India. The populist element in our culture has stuck to a very clichéd image of Islam. By comparison, the Muslims themselves are largely and intensely conscious of their painful history.