Abu Taher ( bn, আবু তাহের) (14 November 1938 – 21 July 1976) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

man, 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 Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, Bangladesh Provincial government at 8 Theatre Rd. He was ordered to report to Sector 11 of

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

under command of Major

Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d ...

, 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 Bir Uttom ( bn, বীর উত্তম, lit=Great Valiant Hero) is the second highest award for individual gallantry in Bangladesh after the Bir Sreshtho and the highest gallantry award for a living individual. Since the independence of Bang ...

for his gallantry in the liberation war. He was released from military service by Indian military medical board in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, 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 Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

appointed him with employment at Kumilla. Later Taher turned into a political activist and leader of the left-wing

Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal ( bn, জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, 'National Socialist Party of Bangladesh', JSD or 'জাসদ', JASAD) is a political party in Bangladesh. The party was founded by Serajul ...

. He was responsible for the 7 November coup which was 3rd Coup of 1975 of Bangladesh. After freeing

and reinstating him as army chief, many personnel including Taher was found guilty of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and murder and executed. However, in 2011, his trial was declared illegal by the high court of Bangladesh.

Early life and education

Abu Taher was born in Badarpur, Assam Province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

on 14 November 1938. His ancestral village was Kazla in Purbadhala, Netrokona District of

. After the completion of higher secondary school from

Murari Chand College Murari Chand College ( bn, মুরারিচাঁদ কলেজ) (usually referred to as MC College) was the first college in the Sylhet Division. It was established in 1892, making it the seventh oldest college in Bangladesh. Since then i ...

in Sylhet, Taher joined the

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

in September 1960 as an officer candidate. He was married to Lutfa Taher.

Military career

Taher received his Commission in 1962 as a second lieutenant in the Pakistan Army. He joined the elite Pakistan

Special Services Group , colors = Maroon, sky blue , colors_label = Colours , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , ...

(Commando Force) in 1965. Following his training, he participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 in the Sialkot sector of Kashmir. For his part, he received a war participation medal from the Pakistan Army. After the war, Taher took officers pre-qualification course on guerrilla warfare at Fort Benning in the United States in 1969. He was posted to the

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...

Staff College,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

in 1970.

Bangladesh War of Independence

Towards the end of August 1971, Captain Taher, along with three other Bengali officers: Major Manzur, Major Ziauddin and Captain Bazlul Ghani Patwari defected from the Pakistani Army and crossed over the border near Abbottabad,

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was ...

, into India. After two weeks under Indian intelligence screening and debriefing, he was sent to Bangladesh Armed Forces (BDF) HQ at 8 Theatre Road, Calcutta and subsequently posted to Sector 11. He was promoted to Major in September . Major Zia appointed Taher as Sub-Sector Commander No. 2 at Mahendraganj. Sector 11 was located across the

Rangpur District Rangpur ( bn, রংপুর) is a district in Northern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rangpur Division. Geography Under the Rangpur Division (one of eight divisions) composed of eight districts of northern Bangladesh, the District of Rangpur ...

, which comprised

Mymensingh District Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is a district in Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh, and is bordered on the north by Meghalaya, a state of India and the Garo Hills, on the south by Gazipur District, on the east by the districts of Ne ...

Tangail District Tangail ( bn, টাঙ্গাইল জেলা) formerly a small Mohokuma of Greater Mymensingh district is a district (''zila'') in the central region of Bangladesh. In 1969, Tangail district was created by Tangail Mohokuma from its 237 ...

and parts of the

. On October 10, upon Major Zia's temporary transfer to the Sylhet sector, Major Shafayat Jamil handed over the interim command of the sector to BDF. Sector 11. On 2 November 1971, Taher lost his leg from a small mine blast during a debriefing. Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah Khan was officially appointed Sector Commander of Sector 11 under direct orders through EAM from General Osmani, Bangladesh Interim Provincial Government Headquarters. Taher was flown to

, India. On 21 November Taher received a Medical Board Release. His leg was later amputated there, where he remained until February 1972. For his valour, he was awarded

Post-war activities

Following his return, Taher was reinstated into the

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and defe ...

in April for effective retirement following administrative procedure. He was retired with a legacy entitlement rank of Lieutenant Colonel and hence is widely known as Colonel Taher.

Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal

Due to his left-leaning communist ideas of governance he joined the

. The

had split from the

Bangladesh Chhatra League The Bangladesh Chhatra League ( bn, বাংলাদেশ ছাত্রলীগ; translation: Bangladesh Students' League; BSL), formerly known as the East Pakistan Student League, often simply called the Chhatra League, is a students' p ...

, the student wing of the

Bangladesh Awami League Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and called for establishing

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

through an armed revolution. Taher became the head of its armed wing, the Gonobahini and led a violent insurgency campaign against the government of

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...

15 August 1975 Coup

Abu Taher welcomed the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975, remarking,

They've made a big mistake. They shouldn't have allowed Sheikh Mujib's burial. Now a shrine will be built there. His body should have been thrown into the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...
.

It was known that

had plans for an insurrection against Sheikh Mujib's government. After the 15 August coup, JSD encouraged its followers to study Marx's The Class Struggles in France. On the morning of the coup, Taher received several phone calls, urging him to go to

Bangladesh Betar Bangladesh Betar ( bn, বাংলাদেশ বেতার; ), or BB is the state-owned radio broadcaster of Bangladesh, initially established as the Dhaka station of All India Radio in 1939. It was later made part of Radio Pakistan. After t ...

, the government radio station. Upon reaching the radio station, he met Major Rashid, one of the key organisers of Sheikh Mujib's assassination. Rashid took Taher to a room, where he saw Major Dalim, Taheruddin Thakur and

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (also spelled Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed; – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the President of Bangladesh from 15 August to 6 November 1975, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was part ...

. Taher was invited to join the cabinet by Rashid, which he declined. Taher was present at Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad's swearing-in ceremony.

3 November 1975 Coup

After the 15 August coup, the chain of command in the Bangladesh Army was disrupted, as the majors involved in Sheikh Mujib's assassination 'began acting like generals'. General

Khaled Mosharraf Khaled Mosharraf, Bir Uttom ( bn, খালেদ মোশাররফ; 9 November 1937 – 7 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi military officer known for his role in the Bangladesh Liberation War. Khaled was the Sector Commander of Bangladesh ...

urged General

to restore the chain of command, which he was either unwilling or unable to do. As a result, Khaled Mosharraf launced the 3 November coup, ousting Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and placing Zia under house arrest. Right before Zia was arrested, he reportedly made a phone call to Taher, urging him to save him. Every night between 4 and 6 November, secret meetings of enlisted men and non-commissioned officers were held under Taher's leadership. These troops belonged to Biplobi Shainik Sangstha (Revolutionary Soldier's Organisation), which was a 'socialist and egalitarian' group which clandestinely existed within the Bangladesh Army. At these meetings, they finalised plans to organise an uprising of soldiers and civilians and free Zia from imprisonment.

7 November 1975 Coup

The coup was launched during the early hours of 7 November in Dhaka Cantonment and soon spread to other areas, including Rangpur and Chittagong. Crowds poured into the streets of Dhaka to support the soldiers and shouted slogans, such as 'The people and soldiers have united'. Ziaur Rahman was freed from house arrest by soldiers and taken to the headquarters of the 2nd Field Artillery regiment, where he met Taher. Witnesses claim that Zia embraced Taher and thanked him for saving his life.

Trial and execution

Once Ziaur Rahman regained control of the army, he realized that the soldiers' mutiny had to be suppressed if discipline was to be restored. On 24 November 1975, he ordered Taher arrested on charges of

and murder. Taher was tried by a military tribunal inside the

Dhaka Central Jail Dhaka Central Jail was the largest jail in Bangladesh, located in the old section of Dhaka, the country's capital. The jail has been used to house criminals as well as political prisoners, especially during the Language Movement of 1952, the 6 ...

and sentenced to death on 17 July 1976. He was executed by hanging on 21 July 1976. His

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States In the United States, most states gi ...

consisted of mangoes and tea. The trial was later considered flawed.

High Court ruling

On 22 March 2011, the High Court overturned the previous judgement that authorised Taher's execution by a military tribunal while the nation was under martial law. The military court judgement was declared illegal."HC declares Taher trial illegal"
bdnews24.com The court observed Taher's execution had happened according to Major General Zia's plan.

References

External links

Website commemorating Col. Taher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taher, Abu 1938 births 1976 deaths Bangladesh Army colonels Executed activists People of the Bangladesh Liberation War People from Netrokona District People executed for treason against Bangladesh Executed Bangladeshi people 20th-century executions for treason Recipients of the Bir Uttom People executed by Bangladesh by hanging Mukti Bahini personnel Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal politicians Murari Chand College alumni People from Karimganj district