Author | Anthony Mascarenhas |
---|---|
Language | English |
Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton |
Publication date | 1 March 1986 [1] |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
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.[ citation needed ]
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, also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist and diarist, who was the founding leader of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangladesh, he had held continuous positions either as Bangladesh's president or as its prime minister from April 1971 until his assassination in August 1975. His nationalist ideology, socio-political theories, and political doctrines are collectively known as Mujibism.
Ziaur RahmanBU HJ HOR was a Bangladeshi military officer, freedom fighter and politician who served as the sixth President of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of country's Liberation War, he broadcast the Bangladeshi declaration of independence on 27 March 1971 from Chittagong. He was the founder of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He previously served as the third chief of army staff from 1975 to 1978 with a minor break.
Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the Minister of Commerce in the third Mujib Rahman ministry under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and assumed the presidency of Bangladesh after the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975. He praised the assassins as "sons of the sun" and put cabinet ministers loyal to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in jail. He was himself deposed by another coup, less than three months later on November 3, 1975.
Lt. Col. Abu Taher BU was a Bangladeshi military officer and war hero. He first served in the Pakistan Army, and later defected to the Bangladesh Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. 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 BU was a Major General in Bangladeshi army 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 the Proclamation of Independence in 1971. Between the first recorded uprising in August 1975 and the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt, 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 commander of the Bangladesh Army. The Chief of Army staff has been a four-star rank since 2007. Prior to that, the Chief of Army Staff was a three-star rank from 1978 to 2007. During the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971, Maj. Gen. M. A. Rab was the Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army under the combined command of Bangladesh Forces which served as the origins of Bangladesh Armed Forces and General M. A. G. Osmani was the Commander-in-Chief. 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 incumbent Chief of Army Staff is General Waker-uz-Zaman.
Sayed Farooq Rahman was the chief organizer 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 founding leader and the first president of Bangladesh. Sayed Farooq 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 overthrow the regime of Sheikh Mujib and install Khondaker Mushtaque Ahmed as president of Bangladesh.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his residence as part of a coup d'état. The Minister of Commerce, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, immediately took control and proclaimed himself head of an interim government from 15 August to 6 November 1975; he was in turn succeeded by Chief Justice Abu Sayem. The assassination marked the first direct military intervention in Bangladesh's civilian administration. Lawrence Lifschultz characterized this incident as an outcome of the Cold War between the United States-influenced Pakistan and the Soviet Union-influenced India. 15 August is annually observed as National Mourning Day, a commemorative day in Bangladesh.
Assassination of Ziaur Rahman refers to the killing of Ziaur Rahman, the sixth president of Bangladesh and was assassinated by a faction of officers of Bangladesh Army, on 30 May 1981, in the southeastern 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 (BNP). 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 Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, refers to the declaration of independence of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971, at the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; the following day Major Ziaur Rahman declared independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra radio station in Kalurghat, Chattogram. 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.
The Bangladesh Freedom Party, also known as Freedom Party is a political party founded by Sayed Farooq Rahman, Khandakar Abdur Rashid and Bazlul Huda who were the chief organisers of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975.
1972–1975 Bangladesh insurgency refers to the period after the independence of Bangladesh when left-wing insurgents, particularly the Gonobahini fought against the government of the Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The government responded by forming the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini, which began a crackdown on the general populace. The force became involved in the numerous charges of human rights abuse including political killings, shooting by death squads, and large number of rapes on women. The insurgency was one of the main reasons for the fall of Sheikh Mujib.
AKM Mozammel Haque is a politician from Bangladesh, representing the Bangladesh Awami League party. He was the Minister for Liberation War Affairs from 2014 to 2024 and is also a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Gazipur-1 constituency.
The military coup in Bangladesh on August 15 of 1975 was launched by mid-ranking army officers in order to assassinate founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose administration post-independence grew corrupt and reportedly authoritarian until he established a one-party state-based government led by the socialist party Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League. Mujib, along with his resident family members, were killed during the coup but was survived by his two then-expat daughters, one of them being future prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The officers were led by Capt. Abdul Majed, Maj. Sayed Farooq Rahman, Maj. Khandaker Abdur Rashid and Maj. Shariful Haque Dalim.
The 7 November 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état, also known as the Sipahi–Janata Revolution, was launched by left-wing soldiers (Sipahi) of Biplobi Shainik Sangstha (BSS) under the leadership of Col. (retd.) Abu Taher.
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.
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Mujibur Rahman was a Bangladeshi army officer who was executed for his alleged role in the assassination of president Ziaur Rahman.