Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh, was killed by some disgruntled army officers on August 15, 1975, along with his family members, including nine-year-old son Sheikh Russel. His daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, were the only survivors as they were abroad at that time.
The killers who confessed, Col (Retd) Rashid and Col (Retd) Faruk, along with some accomplices, were given capital sentences long after the murders. Most of them are now absconding while some are behind bars. The case is now in its final stage as the hearing goes on in the country’s apex court.
So, how was Bangladesh affected by the assassination of
Mujib? Those involved in the plot or those who stood to benefit from this act will invariably say that the murder of Sheikh Mujib helped Bangladesh get rid of being subservient to Delhi and Moscow. It is true that Mujib and his party Awami League had and still has a pro-India image. India extended her hand of cooperation to Bangladesh’s struggle for independence. India gave shelter to 10 million refugees, trained the Bangladeshi liberation fighters, provided all sorts of supplies to them and finally, the Indian Army fought against the occupying Pakistani forces. So the good relations between Bangladesh and India during Mujib’s time was an obvious and logical conclusion of the nine months of bloody war.
Bangladesh was proud of having a modern, secular and democratic constitution just within a year of her independence. Democracy, socialism, secularism and Bengali nationalism were the four principles of that constitution and the state was getting a shape. Some may differ here, saying Mujib banned most newspapers except the four loyal to him and attempted to introduce a one-party democratic system in the country.
Mujib’s murder changed the character of the country. Then army chief Maj. Gen. Ziaur Rahman took office. The constitution was amended with social justice, full trust on Allah and Bangladeshi nationalism replacing socialism, secularism and Bengali nationalism respectively. Analysts say that the state mechanism started getting communalised from that period. But it could not influence people widely as it went against their heritage of over 1000 years.
Zia rehabilitated the anti-liberation forces and appointed Shah Aziz, one of them, as the Prime Minister in his cabinet. Mujib had initiated the trial of these collaborators of the Pakistani forces.
Another dictator, Gen. Ershad, took a leaf out of Zia’s book and declared Islam as the state religion of Bangladesh through the 8th amendment of the constitution. It helped the anti-liberation pro-Pakistan quarters gather strength to stake their claim to political power.
Mujib was hardly a socialist. He added the term ‘socialism’ to the constitution as at that time socialism was perceived to be the vehicle of equitable growth. It also brought Bangladesh closer to the Left block in the international arena.
August 15 brought a radical change in the country’s foreign policy. Dhaka did not turn her face away from friends in the Left block overnight but started pursuing a policy which leant towards the West. Within a decade of its independence, Pakistan lost its way to democracy. In 1958, Field Marshall Ayub Khan imposed military rule over the two-part country. And till 1971, Pakistan was ruled by the military junta and politicians who came from feudal backgrounds. The 1970 general elections brought Awami League a landslide victory mandating them to form government. Pakistani neo-colonialists did not agree to hand over power to Mujib or empower the Bengali people and instead ordered a military crackdown on 25 March, 1971. The war for liberation started.
Mujib's murder pushed politics back to where they were in undivided Pakistan. Military men and their subservient civil politicians came to the forefront. Both Gen. Zia and later Gen. Ershad formed political parties, namely BNP and Jatiya Party. It is beyond doubt that the August 15 incident steered Bangladesh in a totally different direction which the country might not have chosen if she had the option.
The killers who confessed, Col (Retd) Rashid and Col (Retd) Faruk, along with some accomplices, were given capital sentences long after the murders. Most of them are now absconding while some are behind bars. The case is now in its final stage as the hearing goes on in the country’s apex court.
So, how was Bangladesh affected by the assassination of
Mujib? Those involved in the plot or those who stood to benefit from this act will invariably say that the murder of Sheikh Mujib helped Bangladesh get rid of being subservient to Delhi and Moscow. It is true that Mujib and his party Awami League had and still has a pro-India image. India extended her hand of cooperation to Bangladesh’s struggle for independence. India gave shelter to 10 million refugees, trained the Bangladeshi liberation fighters, provided all sorts of supplies to them and finally, the Indian Army fought against the occupying Pakistani forces. So the good relations between Bangladesh and India during Mujib’s time was an obvious and logical conclusion of the nine months of bloody war.Bangladesh was proud of having a modern, secular and democratic constitution just within a year of her independence. Democracy, socialism, secularism and Bengali nationalism were the four principles of that constitution and the state was getting a shape. Some may differ here, saying Mujib banned most newspapers except the four loyal to him and attempted to introduce a one-party democratic system in the country.
Mujib’s murder changed the character of the country. Then army chief Maj. Gen. Ziaur Rahman took office. The constitution was amended with social justice, full trust on Allah and Bangladeshi nationalism replacing socialism, secularism and Bengali nationalism respectively. Analysts say that the state mechanism started getting communalised from that period. But it could not influence people widely as it went against their heritage of over 1000 years.
Zia rehabilitated the anti-liberation forces and appointed Shah Aziz, one of them, as the Prime Minister in his cabinet. Mujib had initiated the trial of these collaborators of the Pakistani forces.
Another dictator, Gen. Ershad, took a leaf out of Zia’s book and declared Islam as the state religion of Bangladesh through the 8th amendment of the constitution. It helped the anti-liberation pro-Pakistan quarters gather strength to stake their claim to political power.
Mujib was hardly a socialist. He added the term ‘socialism’ to the constitution as at that time socialism was perceived to be the vehicle of equitable growth. It also brought Bangladesh closer to the Left block in the international arena.
August 15 brought a radical change in the country’s foreign policy. Dhaka did not turn her face away from friends in the Left block overnight but started pursuing a policy which leant towards the West. Within a decade of its independence, Pakistan lost its way to democracy. In 1958, Field Marshall Ayub Khan imposed military rule over the two-part country. And till 1971, Pakistan was ruled by the military junta and politicians who came from feudal backgrounds. The 1970 general elections brought Awami League a landslide victory mandating them to form government. Pakistani neo-colonialists did not agree to hand over power to Mujib or empower the Bengali people and instead ordered a military crackdown on 25 March, 1971. The war for liberation started.
Mujib's murder pushed politics back to where they were in undivided Pakistan. Military men and their subservient civil politicians came to the forefront. Both Gen. Zia and later Gen. Ershad formed political parties, namely BNP and Jatiya Party. It is beyond doubt that the August 15 incident steered Bangladesh in a totally different direction which the country might not have chosen if she had the option.
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