Rewriting colonial past through culture
Bashabi Fraser was recently awarded one of the highest civilian honours of the UK in the New Years Honours list by the Queen, in recognition of her services to education and culture in Scotland. A chat with the Scottish-Bengali academic, writer and artist
Debanjan Chakrabarti
|
|
Published 21.02.21, 06:14 AM
First, huge congratulations on this wonderful achievement, Bashabidi. How did you come to know about your name featuring in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list? What were your first reactions?
In November last year, when I had gone to Calcutta to bring my father back with me to Edinburgh, I received a letter through email bearing the Royal Coat of Arms, from the Ceremonial Officer at the Cabinet Office, addressed to ‘Bashabi Fraser CBE’ (Commander of the Order of the British Empire). I was advised not to share this news with family or friends till the New Year Honours List was published on December 31.