Author | Anthony Mascarenhas |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton |
Publication date | 1 March 1986 [1] |
Media type | Print (paperback) |
Pages | 117 |
ISBN | 978-0340394205 |
Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood is a 1986 book by Pakistani journalist Anthony Mascarenhas. It is a non-fictional account of the history of Bangladesh from its independence in 1971. [2] The book chronicles the bloody coups and uprisings in the post-independence Bangladesh. [3] The book focuses on the two towering figures of Bangladeshi politics, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman. [4] They are popularly credited as two key architects of modern Bangladesh and the rule of each was ended by assassination.
Mascarenhas describes his own book thus: "This book is the unvarnished story of their (the early leaders of Bangladesh) times, essentially the sad history of the first 10 years of Bangladesh. It is based on my close personal knowledge of the main protagonists; on more than 120 separate interviews with the men and women involved in the dramatic events; and on official archives and documents which I had the privilege to inspect personally. The dialogue, whenever used, is a faithful reproduction of the words which my informants said they actually used during the events in which they were involved."
The book is written in an engaging style, and treats the coups/assassinations and their plotters in great detail. A section of black-and-white photographs depict the slain Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the slain General Ziaur Rahman, plotters behind various coups, politicians and some photocopies of documents and an official gazette related to the many coups this South Asian country has suffered.
In its jacket, the book promises that it has "revealed" issues like who killed Mujib (the first prime minister of Bangladesh), who was responsible for the jail killings in Bangladesh, and how General Zia was assassinated. Written in 13 chapters and an index, the book also contains a list of officers convicted by General Court Martial and hanged for the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman.
In a November 1985 preface to the book, Mascarenhas writes: "This is a true story; in many ways a text book of Third World disenchantment. On the 16th of December, 1971, the state of Bangladesh (population 70,000,000) was born at the end of a nine-month liberation struggle in which more than a million Bengalis of the erstwhile East Pakistan died at the hands of the Pakistan army. But one of the 20th century's great man-made disasters is also among the greatest of its human triumphs in terms of a people's will for self-determination."
David Taylor, a South Asia expert, praises the book's "attention to detail and narrative" although he suggests that it is short on interpretation and treats certain episodes of lesser importance in "excessive length". [5]
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, popularly known by the honorific prefix Bangabandhu was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist and diarist. As a politician, Mujib had held continuous positions as president or prime minister from April 1971 until his assassination in August 1975: as president from 1971 to 1972 and briefly from 1975 until his death, and as prime minister from 1972 to 1975. Mujib successfully led the Bangladeshi independence movement and restored the Bengali sovereignty after over two centuries following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, for which he is honoured as the 'Father of the Nation' in Bangladesh. In 2011, the fifteenth constitutional amendment in Bangladesh referred to Sheikh Mujib as the Father of the Nation who declared independence; these references were enshrined in the fifth, sixth, and seventh schedules of the constitution. His Bengali nationalist ideology, socio-political theories, and political doctrines are sometimes called Mujibism.
Ziaur Rahman was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination. He was the founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and served as its chairman until his assassination. He previously served as the second chief of army staff from 1975 to 1978 with a minor break.
Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March and lasted till 16 December 1971 which is celebrated as Victory Day in Bangladesh. There is a dispute along partisan line on who declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Awami League claim Sheikh Mujibur Rahman while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party claim it was Ziaur Rahman.
Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the fourth president of Bangladesh from 15 August to 6 November 1975, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was involved in the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975. He took on the role of president immediately after the assassination, praised the assassins as "sons of the sun" and put cabinet ministers loyal to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in jail.
Shah Azizur Rahman was a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. However, he was the subject of considerable controversy for his collaboration with the Pakistan Army against the struggle for Independence of Bangladesh.
Abu Taher was a Bengali military serviceman, who served in the Pakistan Army, and later in BDF. He crossed into India around early August and reported to the Indian authorities. After a week screening at Dehradun, India, Taher reported to Kolkata, Bangladesh Provincial government at 8 Theatre Rd. He was ordered to report to Sector 11 of Mukti Bahini under command of Major Ziaur Rahman, he became the sector commander after him. He served in BDF from end of August to 2 November 1971. He was awarded the medal Bir Uttom for his gallantry in the liberation war. He was released from military service by Indian military medical board in Pune, India after his leg was amputated. After independence, he was inducted into the Bangladesh Army for administrative retirement with legacy rank of lieutenant colonel. After settling in with family, the government of Bangladesh appointed him with employment at Kumilla. Later Taher turned into a political activist and leader of the left-wing Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal.
Khaled Mosharraf, Bir Uttom was a Bangladeshi army officer who is known for his role in the Bangladesh Liberation War and the subsequent coups in post-independence Bangladesh. After deposing Khondakar Mustaq Ahmad in the 3 November 1975 coup, Mosharraf was assassinated on 7 November 1975.
Bangladesh has undergone several changes of government since its independence. Between the first recorded uprising in August 1975 and the last known attempt in December 2011, Bangladesh has been through as many as 29 military Coups.
Chief of Army Staff (CAS) of Bangladesh Army, also known as Army Chief, is the highest-ranking officer of the Bangladesh Army. The Chief of Army staff has been a four-star rank since 2007. Maj. Gen. M. A. Rab was the Chief of Staff Army under the combined command of Bangladesh Forces which served as the origins of Bangladesh Armed Forces. After the War of Independence Bangladesh Army was officially reverted to the Ministry of Defense in 1972 and Maj. Gen. K. M. Shafiullah was appointed the Chief of Army Staff. The current Chief of Army Staff is Gen SM Shafiuddin Ahmed
Syed Faruque Rahman was a coup member involved in toppling the Sheikh Mujib regime in Bangladesh. He was convicted and hanged on 28 January 2010 along with co-conspirators Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed, Mohiuddin Ahmed, and Mohammad Bazlul Huda in Dhaka Central Jail, Old Dhaka, for the murder of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder and first President of Bangladesh. Syed Faruque Rahman and his close ally Khondaker Abdur Rashid were the chief organisers of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975. He was 2IC of the 1st Bengal Lancers Regiment of the Bangladesh Army who led a group of junior army officers in-order to overthrew the regime of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and installed Khondaker Mushtaque Ahmed as President of Bangladesh.
The first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family were killed during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of young Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Dhanmondi 32 residence as part of a coup d'état. Minister of Commerce Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad immediately took control of the government and proclaimed himself president. The assassination marked the first direct military intervention in Bangladesh's civilian administration-centric politics. 15 August is National Mourning Day, an official national holiday in Bangladesh.
Ziaur Rahman, the sixth president of Bangladesh, was assassinated by a faction of officers of Bangladesh Army, on 30 May 1981, in the south-eastern port city of Chittagong. Rahman went to Chittagong to arbitrate in a clash between the local leaders of his political party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. On the night of 30 May, a group of officers commandeered the Chittagong Circuit House, a government residence where Rahman was staying, shooting him and several others.
The independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, at the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; the following day the declaration was broadcast by Major Ziaur Rahman in a radio broadcast. On 10 April, the Provisional Government of Bangladesh issued a proclamation on the basis of the previous declaration and established an interim constitution for the independence movement.
Major General Khaled Mosharraf was assassinated on November 7, 1975. He was a Bangladeshi military officer who was the Sector Commander of Bangladesh Forces Sector 2 and K-Force Brigade Commander during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
1972–1975 Bangladesh insurgency refers to the period after the independence of Bangladesh when left-wing Communist insurgents, particularly the Gonobahini fought against the government of the Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état was a military coup launched by mid ranking army officers in Bangladesh on 15 August 1975. The officers were part of a conspiracy to assassinate Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Founding Father of Bangladesh, who led the independence struggle during the Bangladesh Liberation War and later served as the first and fourth President and later in between his two presidential terms served as the second Prime Minister of Bangladesh from April 1971 until his assassination in August 1975. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were killed during the coup, with the exception of his two daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana.
The 7 November 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état was a coup d'état launched by left-wing army personnel in collaboration with left-wing politicians from Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal. The coup resulted in the death of Major General Khaled Mosharraf, who only 3 days prior, led a coup against those involved in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. During the coup, Ziaur Rahman was freed from house arrest, enabling him to seize power and become president.
Deyal is a 2013 political/historical novel by Bangladeshi writer Humayun Ahmed, based on the socio-political crisis in the aftermath of the war of independence of Bangladesh. It was the last novel of the writer and was published one year after his death. The publication of the book was delayed by a High Court verdict.
Abu Yousuf Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman, also known as A.Y.M. Mahfuzur Rahman, was a Bangladeshi army officer who served as a sub-sector commander during the Bangladesh Liberation War. In 1981, he was executed for his alleged involvement in the assassination of president Ziaur Rahman.
Mujibur Rahman was a Bangladeshi army officer who was executed for his alleged role in the assassination of president Ziaur Rahman.