The book, Nothing, But! is divided into six parts and each describes important historical events during different phases. The author, Brigadier Samir Bhattacharya, shares with Riya Sharma that it unfolds the reality that many are not aware of
As Brigaier Samir Bhattacharya launched the book Nothing But!, he recalled the time while he was writing it. And once he finished writing, there were no takers for it in India that is why an author based in london published the book from abroad. “There were no takers in India because they thought that they might get into trouble. Moreover, truth when told, at times does hurt and those who have a guilty conscience are not prepared to learn from their past mistakes,” he shared.
The book traces India’s history and provides an entire spectrum of the historical events, and world in general. But the incidents that are recounted in the book, are not known to many. The author shared with us that there is a possibility that those were discussed by few in the past, but not entirely.
“I have not only given an account of war, scams and corruption but also the political scene during this entire period of 20th century. There are stories not only relating to India, but also Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri lanka and the world leading countries,” he elaborated.
It is a story of seven families, one British family, their five generations and what fate had in store for them.
The metaphorsis that the country was facing in 1947 and then in 1971 has been detailed in the book. But, Bhattacharya was careful enough to incorporate short anecdotes to make the book an interesting read.
He has also included a love story between a Muslim boy and a Bengali girl. Theirs is a tragic love story which develops as they exchange innocent love letters through the sister of the boy. Bhattacharya pointed out, “Though there is romance, there is no sign of marriage between the two.”
The book also discusses the disputed territory of Kashmir and he did a great amount of research work to complete the final draft. “Besides visiting many libraries of the world, including the major ones in India, I also dug into old historical archives and war books of various institutions and regiments including those of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It took me 10 years of research work and four years to complete the book,” he concluded.