Editor's Note

The month of November has been dominated by the deadly Cyclone Sidr and its aftermath, and in this month's Forum we bring you, together with our customary collection of political and social commentary, a heart-breaking photo feature from the devastated southern coast of the country, that will bring a tear to even the most hardened soul.

This issue marks one year of publication, and was originally intended to be an anniversary issue. However, with the country still reeling from the effects of Sidr and with thousands dead and tens of thousands rendered homeless or destitute, even as we enter the traditionally triumphant month of December, there is precious little to celebrate; instead now is a time for sombre reflection and contemplation.

Interestingly enough, the first anniversary of the original Forum coincided with the cyclone of 1970, and we here reprint unbelievable eye-witness accounts written by the original Forum team, to remind of how, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Mindful of December, we also include pieces on the subject of the Liberation War, as well as our usual package of cutting edge political and social commentary and analysis. Of special interest this month should be Mashuqur Rahman's evisceration of revisionist historian Sarmila Bose's recent EPW article where she attempts to call into question the extent of rape during the 1971 war. Afsan Choudhury also takes on the revisionists in his piece, and I can think of no better way to honour the memory of 1971 than these two superb and stirring defences. Please don't miss them.

Finally, I am pleased to bring you a wonderful new poem by Kaiser Haq, that is a great example of his trademark combination of understated wit and beautifully expressed sentiment.

In closing, this is the first issue of the second volume of Forum. We have completed a year of publication, and would like to thank our readers for all their support and interest. We hope that in the coming year we can continue to improve and we have many ambitious plans for the magazine, that we hope will come to fruition. We hope you enjoy this first anniversary issue of Forum, and promise that there is much more where it came from!