Dhaka, March 28 -- Most narratives and discussions of 1971 begin and end with the State. That means it goes back to certain ideas and concepts that circulate around the primary governing institution that largely is run by the ruling class - the official world. In other words it means the government. That is built by several layers of legitimacy including the national sovereignty, supremacy of the three primary institutions - executive, legislative and the judiciary - to which is added the electoral voting process. Together they make up the state and it's this institutional experience that dominates the narrative of the State as the history of any event.

This dominance is taken for granted and the process also ensures the supremacy of the...