The stigma of Bengali history: The brutal assassination of the Father of the Nation, 1975

❐ Ramendra Chowdhury

It is necessary to say something at the beginning of the discussion about the brutal murder of Bangabandhu. The words of Bangabandhu’s three and a half years of ‘misrule, nepotism, incompetence and incompetence’ in the newly independent and almost devastated Bangladesh are widely discussed in some circles. Because, these meet the needs of the anti-liberation war and anti-independence politics of Bangladesh. By the way, I am saying this with all due respect, not for the wise and the elderly, nor for the unnecessary purpose of ascribing credit and respect to Bangabandhu Mujib, but for the younger generation who are interested in knowing Bangabandhu in the context of that time and crisis, the article is dedicated exclusively to them.

“Rehabilitation of 10 million people returning from India and food provision for 30 million uprooted people inside the country, sending back Indian soldiers within 3 months and taking back a huge amount of weapons from freedom fighters, providing financial assistance to 3 million families killed in the liberation war and taking responsibility for 200,000 victimized mothers and sisters, sending disabled freedom fighters abroad for treatment, forming Freedom Fighters Welfare Trust and Women Rehabilitation Board, giving status to teachers and government employees, formulating a democratic ordinance for universities, forming Dr. Qudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission and introducing Bengali language at all levels of national life, establishing 11,000 new primary schools, renovating schools, colleges and madrasas with the appointment of 54,000 teachers, establishing health centers at every police station and union level, building medical colleges and hospitals in different parts of the country and giving permanent job status to temporary health workers, reorganizing the defense forces including the National Army, Air Force and Navy to national status and establishing the country’s first military academy in Comilla, police, “Building the infrastructure of BDR, Ansar and civil administration, bringing back and rehabilitating about 4 lakh Bengalis detained in Pakistan, sending back 7 lakh Pakistanis, increasing the status of the Bengali nation and the Bengali language, and Bangabandhu’s first speech in Bengali at the United Nations, gaining recognition from 140 countries including the United Nations and international organizations. When the economic rehabilitation and reconstruction activities were almost completed smoothly, and as a result of increased production in factories and farms and reform of monetary policy, prices of goods quickly came within the purchasing power of the people, domestic and foreign reactionary circles and anti-liberation forces killed the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with his family. The country was thrown into the trap of military coup and dictatorship.”

According to a 1987 World Bank report, the national income growth rate during 1972-1975, the most difficult period of Bangladesh’s transition, was 7 percent. This was only the result of the measures taken during Bangabandhu’s tenure. In early 1975, the price of rice per sare stood at 4.50 taka and in May it stood at 3.75 taka.

In the context of the above information, it can be said with utmost confidence that Bangabandhu was killed not for failure and mismanagement but for his undeniable ‘commitment’ and courage and success. Even after Bangabandhu’s assassination, the murderers or the domestic and foreign conspirators could not be ‘confident and fearless’. They feared that those who were able to make the liberation war successful even in the midst of extreme crisis in Bangabandhu’s absence would definitely lead Bangladesh ‘on the path of Bangabandhu’s ideals’ even after Bangabandhu’s assassination. Therefore, the four national leaders who led the liberation war of 1971 also had to die in prison at the hands of the same group of assassins. To understand why the Bangladesh of Bengalis could not become a reality, today or tomorrow we will have to think about these murders and the connection and identity of the murderers. The opportunistic, knowledge-sinful killers and the conspirators behind them must also think that Mujib was removed by committing the murder, as everyone knows, but Mujib could not be removed from the minds of the people of Bengal, that is not possible at all. The dead Mujib is gradually becoming bigger and stronger than the living Mujib. In the first phase of this, almost 30 years after Mujib’s assassination in 2004, in a BBC-conducted survey, the Bengalis themselves determined the seat of the best Bengali for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Has the name of Mahatma Gandhi been erased from the ongoing history of India by the assassin’s bullet, Lulumba from Congo or Allende from Chile?

In the aftermath of Mujib’s assassination, some very direct and fundamental questions arose in the mind of Mujib fan Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury. I quote those questions in the context of the discussion: “Did Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman know that a huge conspiracy was underway to kill him? Did he know that foreigners were involved in this conspiracy as well as people from his own party? What was the purpose of this conspiracy? Just to kill Bangabandhu. No, to destroy Bangladesh as well?”

S.A. Karim’s observation: ”What was, virtually ignored by him (Mujib) was the likelihood of a deadlier threat from a better-armed and better-organized body of men-the army…With no threat to Bangladesh…from across the border, the armed forces…perception that Mujib neglected them began when Rakkhi Bahini was created in February 1972 to fight the leftist insurgency and help in the restoration of law and order…When Mujib sent his second son Jamal, to receive military training at Sandhurst in England, it was whispered that upon his return to Bangladesh, he would join their ranks for the sole purpose of keeping a watch over them…Not surprisingly the cantonment voted overwhelmingly for opposition candidates during the 1973 elections”

It may sound strange to say that since almost all the army members were freedom fighters, that also created a problem. They participated in the liberation war by rebelling. That is, by breaking discipline and the chain of command. This increased their love and expectations for the country. Again, it also gave birth to the mentality of rebelling and breaking the chain of command. Whenever they caught a small or big criminal, they were released on the orders of the higher ups. On top of that, there were many politically aware army members like Abu Taher, Ziauddin and Jalil – who thought of building a different kind of army. The biggest leader in the Mujib assassination, Farooq, was also such an angry major. When he went to Munshiganj, he was greatly struck by corruption and nepotism. It was then that Farooq thought that he would kill the Father of the Nation, the observational comment is by Golam Murshid.

Halim Dad Khan writes that Mujib used to say, “We do not want to create a monster like the Pakistan Army.” Begum Mujib was also very afraid of the army men. Pointing to the soldiers on guard, she would tell her husband, “These people will one day turn their guns on you.” Political ambitions also emerged among those involved during the war of independence. The military officers were unhappy with the appointment of MP Osmani as the commander-in-chief and they avoided Osmani. The creation of Mujib’s army further increased their distrust. There was a power struggle between these three – Shafiullah, Zia and Khalid Musharraf.”

It was probably impossible to build an army in Bangladesh after the Liberation War, following a disciplined system of rules and a chain of command. Rather, some of the discontent and instability of the Liberation War period has persisted and has gradually become stronger in independent Bangladesh. Again, for the sake of truth, it must be accepted that the army that was built on the back of a strong political Liberation War (or if you say tradition), had various shades of politics infused into it from the moment of its birth.

Incidentally, the question may arise, did Mujib support the nepotism and corruption of many Swatantra party leaders and activists, or did he turn a blind eye? Sheikh Sadi says, “Bangabandhu saw the entire country suffering due to the anarchy of corruption. Until this problem is eliminated, efforts for progress are baseless. On July 21, 1975, he said, ‘We were elected to serve the people. Today, you should repent to me and not indulge in nepotism. Do not help bribe-takers. The suffering of the people of Bangladesh cannot be removed for the sake of just a few people. I want to see a remedy for this. My workers, those who fought with guns on my words, those who could have given up everything on my words, keep my word. Stop bribery and corruption.’ The whole country is surrounded by a web of conspiracy. Light and darkness are two paths ahead. Rabindranath Tagore said, ‘Losing faith in people is a sin.’ Bangabandhu believed in this word until the last day of his life.”

On the night of March 25, 1971 (March 26), Yahya Khan’s army-bureaucracy clique arrested Bangabandhu from his house at Dhanmondi No. 32 in Dhaka and delayed informing the world about the news (April 10) for almost two weeks. However, “within three hours of Mujib’s assassination, the newspapers of Karachi and Lahore brought out special bulletins on Mujib’s death and the situation in Bangladesh and Radio Pakistan broadcasted it on the 8 am news”.

It is also worth noting that, “On August 16, the Urdu newspaper ‘Nawa-e-Waqt’ in a long editorial proposed that Mushtaq merge with Pakistan and name the country ‘East Pakistan’ or ‘Islamic Republic of East Pakistan’. ‘Pakistan Times’ commented that this change had established ‘Muslim Bengal’ on the basis of bi-nationalism. The Urdu daily ‘Jang’ commented in an editorial (August 18), ‘The people of Bangladesh are not hostile to Pakistan and the Pakistani ideology’. The newspaper also advised the Mushtaq government to rectify the mistakes made in the relations with Pakistan during the Mujib era and establish relations without delay. In a news report broadcast on Radio Pakistan on August 17, it praised the new government of Bangladesh for naming it ‘Islamic Republic of Bangladesh’.”

Dr. Abu Md. Delwar Hossain also mentioned, “Pakistan became worried when the Jamaat-e-Islami-affiliated ‘Millat’ newspaper in London on August 20 commented that Bhutto was behind the August 15 coup. However, the evidence of financial support to Mujib’s opponents also strengthened this idea.” On the other hand, Dr. Delwar also mentioned that “Wahab Siddiqui, the editor of Pakistan’s (one of the most notorious newspapers) ‘Al Fatah’, expressed his regret over Mujib’s assassination on August 22 and commented that Mujib made considerable efforts to improve the country’s economic situation. But he was killed just when the country’s situation was improving. The number of people who agreed with Wahab Siddiqui in Pakistan is very small. Although the Pakistani government and the opposition party had differences on various issues, they had a lot in common regarding the new government of Bangladesh.”

Naturally, the most enthusiastic supporters of independence in various countries were the opponents of Mujib’s assassination. The day after Mujib’s assassination in London, known as their stronghold, they expelled the Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Abdus Sultan and the pro-independence activists from the embassy. The protesters pulled down Mujib’s picture and tore it down and threw it on the street. Razakar Ghulam Azam sent a letter from Jeddah thanking Mushtaq and Bhutto for recognizing the new government. In statements in the newspapers, Bengali leaders Ahmed Ali, Khwaja Khair Uddin, Hamidul Haque Chowdhury, Kamaruzzaman (sentenced to death for war crimes), and a former MNA named Nasrullah, Suhrawardy’s daughter and former advisor to Bhutto, Akhtari Solaiman, and the Nawab of Dhaka, Khwaja Hasan Askari, supported the Pakistani government’s policy towards Bangladesh and wished the Mushtaq government success. It was mainly because of their interest The issue of confederation resurfaced. On September 9, an organization called the ‘Pakistan Bangladesh Solidarity Council’ emerged in Rawalpindi and Islamabad with the aim of establishing a united Pakistan.

Now let us focus on the context of the national and international conspiracy to assassinate Bangabandhu (and the values of the Liberation War). Here, as a basis for understanding the issue as a whole, I will quote a few brief excerpts from a few long articles. The first is the ‘Role of the United States in the Assassination of Mujib’ by European Awami League President Anil Dasgupta. Dasgupta writes: “In 1971, American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said that among the enemies they have in the world, Sheikh Mujib of Bangladesh is one of them. The other two were the Vietnamese statesman Thieu and Chilean President Allende. Therefore, the vengeful Kissinger plotted to overthrow Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib.”

Some important information is known from the book ‘Bangladesh: The Unfinished Revolution’ by American journalist Lawrence Lifshultz: “A. American State Department officials said that representatives of the group that killed Mujib came to the American Embassy in Dhaka in the autumn of 1974 and asked for help in this matter. B. The CIA ‘station chief’ at the American Embassy in Dhaka maintained contact with the conspirators until August 15, 1975, the day of Mujib’s assassination. C. The US State Department told Mr. Lifshultz that Mahbub Alam Chashi, Taher Uddin Thakur, A.B.S. Safdar were then the main agents of the American intelligence agency CIA. D. Philip Cherry, the CIA station chief in Dhaka, said, ‘Our communication was so good that we were able to send the news of the coup to the United States very soon after receiving it’. E. Cherry admitted that he When he sent the news to the United States, the coup was still going on. The State Department official added, “This contact with Khandaker Mushtaq Gang was in 1971, from Kolkata. The contact that the United States had with Mushtaq and the farmers in 1971 was intact even in 1975.”

“A senior officer of the US Embassy in Dhaka said that the authorities of the US Embassy in Dhaka had met with local conspirators about the proposed coup four to five months before August 15 (1975). The US Embassy in Dhaka had declared August 15 (1975) a holiday three days in advance. This holiday was an unscheduled holiday. And it was on this day that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib and his family were killed. The US Embassy in Dhaka knew that a group of conspiring officers of the army under their command would kill Sheikh Mujib on that day.”

“No matter how much Major Faruk-Rashid, who directly led the assassination of Bangabandhu, claims that the plan and decision to kill Mujib were their own, it is a complete lie. Faruk-Rashid were the tools in the hands of the main conspirators. Nothing more. The control room of this assassination was the US Embassy in Dhaka, the proof of which is that the first announcement of Mujib’s assassination came from Washington’s ‘Voice of America’. Before the coup was completely completed, the world’s ‘Voice of America’ started spreading the news of the coup. Philip Cherry himself admitted that he was the one who sent the news of Sheikh Mujib’s assassination to Washington. Senior embassy officers spent the night in the office on the dark night of August 14-15. This incident (all together) proves that on that shameful night of August 15, 1975, the US Embassy officials in Dhaka managed the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib without sleeping until dawn. In this assassination conspiracy, Pakistan and the West “Two or three Muslim countries in Asia have committed the most tragic incident in history with their slaves in Bangladesh. The leader of the toiling and suffering people, the architect of Bangladesh, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been killed.”

Then two quotes from Rabiul Awal’s article titled ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib: Victim of Conspiracy’. “In independent Bangladesh, this Mushtaq character is a strange villain. A hat on his head, honey on his face, a deceitful mind. There was nothing called stability in Mushtaq’s character. In 1954, when he did not get the nomination of the United Front, he betrayed the Awami League Parliamentary Party and entered the government of the Krishak Sramik Party. His political life was full of contradictions, self-deception and hypocrisy. All his life, he supported the right-wing reactionaries and communalists, but remained with the progressive part of the Awami League for personal gain. According to some, he was kept (in the progressive part of the Awami League). The reactionary group used him like a Trojan horse. His biggest betrayal was during the Liberation War of 1971. He established contact with Washington along with Mahbub Alam Chashi, Taheruddin Thakur and others. The Liberation War was foiled – the formation of a ‘confederation’ with Pakistan was the goal of this clique Target. Kolkata’s Circus Avenue and Theatre Road are frequent gatherings of Americans like Mushtaq, Hussain Ali, Chashi, and Thakur. Colonel Osmani has joined this group. Colonel Osmani and Mushtaq have similarities in one respect. Both are deeply jealous of India. Both have a close relationship with British and American aid workers, diplomats, and journalists.

On January 10, 1972, US President Nixon said, “We are going to develop a new system, which will be pro-Bangladesh, pro-India, pro-Pakistan and above all pro-peace”. Can anything be said of Nixon’s words other than the desire to make a ‘golden stone’? In fact, the Nixon government was not sympathetic or sincerely responsible for any of these countries at that time. “The Americans claim credit for Bangabandhu’s survival in the Pakistani military prison. But his triumphant return to Dhaka was a blow to their pride (and certainly their confidence). Kissinger’s former assistant Roger Morris believes that the hero’s welcome that Bangabandhu received on his return to Dhaka was perhaps the only episode of the bewilderment of US foreign policy since (Cuban Fidel) Castro’s tank entry into Havana.”

Due to its relevance in this discussion, it is necessary to mention the founder of BNP, Zia. During the 1971 Liberation War, Zia “was an ordinary major, but the main door of his progress opened after the country became independent. He became Colonel-Brigadier-Major General. In 1972, he became the Vice Chief of the Bangladesh Army. And through the assassination of Bangabandhu, the murderers installed him at the top of the army on August 20, 1975. In just four years, the scepter of Bangladesh practically came into his hands. General Zia was a very cunning and clever person. He started removing thorns in his path one by one. According to official documents, a total of 1,143 people were hanged in the two months from October 9, 1977. In an article published from London in March 1977, Mark Tully said, “Before ordering the killing of brother officers, he stayed up all night reciting the Quran.”

“Colonel (retd) Taher was one of Zia’s close associates. It would not be an exaggeration to call him a life-giver. In the interest of self-interest, J. Zia did not hesitate to hang Taher.” A secret conference of political leaders and activists was held in Tangail in early 1973. The topic of discussion was: the political situation in Bangladesh at that time. After discussing various aspects, the leaders present came to a decision. This administration must be changed. How? A brave guerrilla fighter replied: Keeping Bangabandhu alive. Zia’s tone was the opposite in this regard. He said, no, then it will not happen. Keeping Mujib alive will ruin everything. “The meeting broke up on this question.” After Mujib’s assassination, on August 2, 1976, Britain’s I-TV broadcast an interview of Major Farooq and Major Rashid about the Mujib assassination. In the interview, taken by Mascarenhas, “Farooq admitted that he met Major General Zia on the evening of March 20, 1975 to change the political situation. He told Zia, ‘We junior officers have decided everything (for Mujib’s assassination). We want your support and leadership.’ Zia’s comment was: ‘I am a senior officer. I cannot be involved in such matters. If you junior officers want to do this, go ahead.’ After Ziaur Rahman seized power, he issued a (military) decree and established a military regime, rejecting the four fundamental principles of Bangladesh.” The importance of all this information for understanding the final events of Mujib’s life is undeniable.

Abudal Gaffar Chowdhury said that he first noticed in late 1973, “Bangabandhu was thinking and talking about his unnatural death. He was not afraid of death. But he began to harbor a fear that the assassin’s bullets might not allow him to do the work he wanted to do for Bangladesh in the end. This was the first time I saw a hint of a conspiracy in his face. I asked: Do you really think that someone wants to kill you? Mujib said, you are a journalist, why do you have to say this openly? Don’t you understand who wants to kill me? And why? In 1973, Mujib went to the Non-Aligned Summit in Algiers. I also had to go with him. Mujib expressed surprise one day after seeing the strict security arrangements for Castro (the Cuban President). He said that Castro was a very popular leader. Does he need such a strict guard? An ‘aid’ said that there had been several plots to kill Castro. There were allegations that the CIA was behind this plot. This was the first time I saw Mujib in the name of the CIA. He faded a little. A few days later, Chilean President Allende was killed in a military coup. Mujib said: ‘I have been feeling very uneasy ever since I heard the news that Allende has been killed.’ I was surprised to see Sheikh Mujib’s fearless character and nature, while I was familiar with him, feeling apprehensive about the events in distant Chile.

On 15 April 1974, Abdul Ghaffar Chowdhury met Mrs. Allende, the wife of the murdered (CIA-planned) Chilean President Salvador Allende, at the Kolkata Press Club. In a discussion on Allende-Mujib and Bangladesh, Mrs. Allende said: “This is a set pattern of the CIA. To destroy a popular government, they first break the economic system of that country. They start various disturbances. They incite labor strikes. They create religious tensions. In this way, they destroy the popularity of the popular leader or government and then start murdering. Then gradually they install a person they choose from the military in the seat of a fascist dictator. In this way, in Congo, they killed Luulumba and installed Mobutu. In Indonesia, they removed Sukarno and installed Suharto. In Chile, they killed Allende and installed Pinochet. I don’t know what will happen to your Mujib?”

Everyone knows that Bangabandhu never played the politics of escape since his youth. Famous journalist Shafiqur Rahman has described the last phase of Bangabandhu’s life: “Even on the night of August 15, 1975, when the assassins entered the residence like the Pakistanis, he did not try to escape through the back door, but opened the front door and came down the stairs saying ‘What do you want’ in the same way. As soon as they confronted each other, the weapon fell from Nur Huda’s hand. The executioner Havildar Moslem raised his weapon and opened fire. Bangabandhu’s chest became jagged.” The assassin’s bullet hit Bangabandhu in the chest, not on the back like a scared or fleeing person. Thus ended a great life – the architect of Bangladesh, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The news of the assassination attempt in the national-international conspiracy was not unknown to Bangabandhu at all, as has been made clear from the recently published ‘WikiLeaks’ information. The news titled “There was an attempt to kill Bangabandhu before” (Janakanth, 14-03-2013) states: 15 August 1975, “Before Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed, there was an attempt to kill him once. But due to strict restrictions of the government at that time, it was not possible to publish any report on this in the Bangladeshi media. According to a cable sent from the US Embassy in Dhaka to Washington at that time, two reports have come to our hands that President Mujibur Rahman was the target of an assassination attempt on the evening of 21 May (1975). The main source of this information was a Bengali political associate of the US Embassy in Dhaka. Another is a journalist who gave this information to the Information Officer (US Embassy) Elpern.

Both accounts mention the use of grenades in the attack. Mujib was unharmed in the assassination attempt, but two unidentified persons were injured. The US and Mujib were strained due to Pakistan’s close relationship with the Nixon administration. This strain in bilateral relations continued even when Pakistan broke up and Bangladesh emerged in the Liberation War. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that Mujib knew about the imminent threat to his life, but he wanted to face the situation from a position of personal courage and confidence, rather than succumbing to fear and cowardice. All in all, the idea seems correct that despite knowing everything, he did not lose faith in his people, in humanity.

From the book Haque-Bhasani-Suhrawardy-Mujib written by Ramendra Chowdhury