Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
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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 Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
''), 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 ...
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
, parliamentarian and the founding leader of the
People's Republic 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 ...
. He first served as the titular
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh between April 1971 and January 1972. He then served as
Prime Minister of Bangladesh The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা ...
from the
Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people. The adjective appears in the following proper names: *Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan *Awami Front, wa ...
between January 1972 and January 1975. He finally served as President again during
BAKSAL Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BaKSAL) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ কৃষক শ্রমিক আওয়ামী লীগ "Bangladesh Worker-Peasant's People's League"; বাকশাল) was a political front comprising B ...
from January 1975 till his assassination in August 1975. In 2011, the 15th constitutional amendment in Bangladesh referred to Sheikh Mujib as the
Father of the Nation The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. (plural ), also seen as , was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", best ...
who declared independence; these references were enshrined in the fifth, sixth, and seventh schedules of the constitution.http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/upload/act/2022-04-18-13-27-54-Scheudle__367.pdf Mujib emerged as a student activist in Bengal during the final years of the
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
. He rose within the ranks of the Awami League as a fiery and charismatic orator. He became popular for his opposition to the ethnic and institutional discrimination of Bengalis in Pakistan, who comprised the largest ethnic group in the federation. He was elected to public office for the first time in 1954 and championed Bengali identity in Pakistan's constitution making process between 1955 and 1956. Mujib worked in the insurance industry on the sidelines of politics. At the heightening of tensions between
East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
and
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 d ...
, he outlined a six-point autonomy plan. He was often jailed for his protests against the Pakistani government. Mujib led the Awami League to win the first democratic election of Pakistan in 1970. Despite gaining a majority, the League was not invited by the ruling military junta to form a government. As civil disobedience erupted across East Pakistan, Mujib edged towards declaring the independence of Bangladesh in a historic speech on 7 March 1971. On 26 March 1971, Mujib declared Bangladesh's independence after the Pakistan Army responded to the mass protests with
Operation Searchlight Operation Searchlight was the codename for a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army in an effort to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in former East Pakistan in March 1971. Pakistan retrospectively justified the opera ...
, in which Prime Minister–elect Mujib was arrested and flown to solitary confinement in West Pakistan, while the Bengali population suffered
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
. A nine-month war was fought in his name, which culminated in Pakistan's surrender on 16 December 1971. Mujib was released from Pakistani custody due to international pressure and returned home on 10 January 1972. The jubilation of Bangladeshis over the war's victory and Mujib's homecoming was tempered by the devastation and challenges faced by the new country. Sheikh Mujib was a major populist leader of the 20th century. In governance, Mujib's legacies include the
Constitution of Bangladesh The Constitution of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের সংবিধান — ), officially the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের ...
, which was enacted within a year of Bangladesh's liberation; as well as the transformation of East Pakistan's state apparatus, bureaucracy, armed forces, and judiciary into an independent Bangladeshi state. He delivered the first Bengali speech to the UN General Assembly in 1974. Mujib's five year regime was the only
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
period in Bangladesh's history. In 1975, Mujib installed a one party state which lasted for seven months until his assassination. His legacy remains divisive among Bangladeshis due to his economic management, the Bangladesh famine of 1974, human rights violations, and authoritarianism. Most Bangladeshis credit him for leading the country to independence in 1971. Many within and outside Bangladesh call him ''Bangabandhu'' out of respect. In a 2004 BBC opinion poll, Mujib was voted as the ''
Greatest Bengali of all time Soon after the completion of ''100 Greatest Britons'' poll in 2002, the BBC organized a similar opinion poll to find out the greatest Bengali personalities in the history of Bengali nation. In 2004, the BBC's Bengali Service conducted the opinio ...
'' and ranked first on the list followed by Asia's first Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
(2nd) and Bangladeshi national poet
Kazi Nazrul Islam Kazi Nazrul Islam ( bn, কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম, ; 24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, Bengali literature, writer, Bangladeshi music, musician, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul is regarded as one ...
(3rd).

His speech of 7 March is listed amongst UNESCO
Memory of the World Register – Asia and the Pacific The first inscriptions on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register were made in 1997. By creating a compendium of the world’s documentary heritage, including manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual materials, library and archive holdings, the pr ...
. Mujib's diaries and travelogues were published many years after his death and have been translated into several languages.


Early life and activism

Mujib was born in 1920 in the village of Tungipara in Gopalganj sub-division of
Faridpur district Faridpur District ( bn, ফরিদপুর জেলা) is a district in south-central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. It is bounded by the Padma River to its northeast. The district was named after Farīd-ud-Dīn Masʿūd, ...
in the province of Bengal in
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 ...
. His father Sheikh Lutfur Rahman was a ''
sheristadar A ''sheristadar'' was once the chief administrative officer in Indian courts entrusted with the tasking of receiving and checking court pleas. The word is derived from the Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historicall ...
'' (law clerk) in the courthouse of Gopalganj; Mujib's mother
Sayera Khatun Sheikh Sayera Khatun (1886 – 31 March 1975) was the matriarch of Sheikh-Wazed political family and mother of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh. She was the grandmother of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasin ...
was a housewife. They were a middle class
Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
family, and had Iraqi
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
ancestry through his paternal grandfather Sheikh Abdul Hamid, who was a direct descendant of 15th-century
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
preacher Sheikh Awwal of
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
. Mujib was the third child in a family of four daughters and two sons. His parents nicknamed him "Khoka". In 1927, Mujib was enrolled in Gimadanga Primary School. In 1929, he entered the third grade of Gopalganj Public School. His parents transferred him to Madaripur Islamia High School after two years. Mujib withdrew from school in 1934 to undergo eye surgery. He returned to formal education after 4 years owing to the severity of the surgery and slow recovery. He began showing signs of political leadership around this time. At the Gopalganj Missionary School, Mujib's political passion was noticed by
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy ( bn, হোসেন শহীদ সোহ্‌রাওয়ার্দী; ur, ; 8 September 18925 December 1963) was a Bengali barrister and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 t ...
, who was visiting the area along with A. K. Fazlul Huq. Mujib passed out from the Gopalganj Missionary School in 1942. Mujib moved to
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
for higher education. At the time, Calcutta was the capital of British Bengal and the largest city in undivided India. He studied
liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...
, including
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
, at the erstwhile Islamia College of Calcutta and lived in Baker Hostel. Islamia College was one of the leading educational institutions for the Muslims of Bengal. He obtained his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from the college in 1947. During his time in Calcutta, Sheikh Mujib became involved in the politics of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League, the All India Muslim Students Federation, the
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
and the
Pakistan movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...
. In 1943, he was elected as a councillor of the Muslim League. In 1944, he was elected as secretary of the Faridpur District Association, a Calcutta-based association of residents from Faridpur. In 1946, at the height of the Pakistan movement, Mujib was elected as General Secretary of the Islamia College Students Union in Calcutta. His political mentor Suhrawardy led the center-left faction of the Muslim League. Suhrawardy was responsible for creating 36
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s in Bengal, including unions for sailors, railway workers, jute and cotton mills workers, rickshaw pullers, cart drivers and other working class groups. Mujib assisted Suhrawardy in these efforts and also worked to ensure protection for Muslim families during the violent days in the run up to partition. After the
partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
, Mujib was admitted into the Law Department of the
University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...
. The university was created in 1921 as a residential university modelled on Oxford and Cambridge where students would be affiliated with colleges; but its residential character was dramatically changed after partition and students became affiliated with departments. Mujib founded the Muslim Students League on 4 January 1948 as the student wing of the Muslim League in
East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...
. This organization later transformed into 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 ...
. During the visit of
Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Muhammad Ali Jinnah to
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
, it was declared that
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
Bengali Language Movement. Mujib became embroiled in the language movement, as well as left-wing trade unionism among Bengali factions of the Muslim League. Bengali factions eventually split away and formed the Awami Muslim League in 1949. These opposition political activities were targeted by the government and police. Mujib was arrested many times. In 1949, Mujib was expelled from Dhaka University on charges of inciting employees against the university. After 61 years, in 2010, the university withdrew its famously politically-motivated expulsion order.


Leader of Pakistan

Mujib emerged as a major opposition figure in Pakistani politics between 1948 and 1971. He represented the Bengali grassroots. He had an uncanny ability to remember people by their first name regardless of whether they were political leaders, workers, or ordinary citizens. Mujib suffered repeated bouts of police detention due to his ability to instigate opposition protests against the Pakistani government. His movements were tracked by spies of the Pakistani government. He was accused of being a secessionist and an agent of India. East Pakistan's Intelligence Branch compiled many secret reports on his movements and political activities. The secret documents have been declassified by the Bangladeshi government. The formerly classified reports have also been published.


Founding of the Awami League

The
All Pakistan Awami Muslim League Awami League ( ur, ; bn, আওয়ামী লীগ) was a Pakistani political party founded by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in February 1950. Pir of Manki Sharif and Khan Ghulam Mohammad Khan from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) joine ...
was founded on 23 June 1949 at the
Rose Garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...
mansion on K. M. Das Lane in
Old Dhaka Old Dhaka ( bn, পুরান ঢাকা, Puran Dhaka) is a term used to refer to the historic old city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1608 as Jahangirabad or Jahangirnagar ( bn, জাহাঙ্গীরনগ ...
.Bangladesh Awami League - Banglapedia
/ref> Sheikh Mujib was elected as one of its joint secretaries. The term "Muslim" was later dropped from the party's nomenclature. The Awami League sought to represent both Muslims and Pakistan's religious minorities, including
Bengali Hindus Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Benga ...
and
Pakistani Christians Christianity (Masihiyt) is the third largest religion in Pakistan, making up about 1.27% of the population according to the 2017 Census. Of these, approximately half are Catholic and half Protestant (primarily Anglican and Presbyterian). A smal ...
. Hence, it dropped "Muslim" from its name to appeal to the minority votebanks. Suhrawardy joined the party within a few years and became its main leader. He relied on Sheikh Mujib to organize his political activities in East Bengal. Mujib became Suhrawardy's political protégé. Prior to partition, Suhrawardy mooted the idea of an independent
United Bengal United Bengal was a proposal to transform Bengal Province into an undivided, sovereign state at the time of the Partition of India in 1947. It sought to prevent the division of Bengal on religious grounds. The proposed state was to be called ...
. But in Pakistan, Suhrawardy reportedly preferred to preserve the unity of Pakistan in a federal framework; while Mujib supported autonomy and was open to the idea of East Bengali independence. Mujib reportedly remarked that " e Bengalis had initially failed to appreciate a leader of Mr. Suhrawardy’s stature. By the time they learned to value him, they had run out of time". At the federal level, the Awami League was led by Suhrawardy. At the provincial level, the League was led by Sheikh Mujib who was given a free reign over the party's activities by Suhrawardy. Mujib consolidated his control of the party. The Awami League veered away from the left-wing extremism of its founding president
Maulana Bhashani Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani (12 December 1880 – 17 November 1976), often shortened as Maulana Bhashani, was a Bengali politician. His political tenure spanned the British colonial India, Pakistan and Bangladesh periods. Maulana Bhashani was pop ...
. Under Suhrawardy and Mujib, the Awami League emerged as a
centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...
party.


Language Movement

The Awami League strongly backed the Bengali Language Movement. Bengalis argued that the
Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second m ...
deserved to be a federal language on par with Urdu because Bengalis formed the largest ethnic group in Pakistan. The movement appealed to the
Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan ( bn, পাকিস্তান গণপরিষদ, Pākistān Goṇoporishod; ur, , Aāin Sāz Asimblī) was established in August 1947 to frame Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, a constitution for Paki ...
to declare both Urdu and Bengali as national languages, in addition to English. During a conference in
Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall is one of the oldest residential halls of Dhaka University. History Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall was established in 1940 and named after A. K. Fazlul Huq, former prime minister of undivided Bengal. Fazlul Huq played a major part ...
, Sheikh Mujib was instrumental in establishing the All-Party State Language Action Committee. He was repeatedly arrested during the movement. When he was released from jail in 1948, he was greeted by a rally of the State Language Struggle Committee. Mujib announced a nationwide student strike on 17 March 1948. In early January 1950, the Awami League held an anti-famine rally in Dhaka during the visit of Prime Minister
Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...
. Mujib was arrested for instigating the protests. On 26 January 1952, Pakistan's then Prime Minister
Khwaja Nazimuddin Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin ( bn, খাজা নাজিমুদ্দীন; ur, ; 19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964) was a Pakistani politician and one of the leading founding fathers of Pakistan. He is noted as being the first Bengali to ha ...
reiterated that Urdu will be the only state language. Despite his imprisonment, Mujib played a key role in organizing protests by issuing instructions from jail to students and protestors. He played a key role in declaring 21 February 1952 as a strike day. Mujib went on
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
from 14 February 1952 in the prelude to the strike day. His own hunger strike lasted 13 days. On 26 February, he was released from jail amid the public outrage over police killings of protestors on 21 February, including Salam,
Rafiq Rafiq or Rafique ( ar , رفیق ), meaning "intimate friend", "companion", and "comrade", is an Arabic masculine given name and surname also used in several other languages. Notable people with the name include: Constituent of compound name *Rafi ...
, Barkat, and Jabbar.


United Front

The League teamed up with other parties like the Krishak Praja Party of A. K. Fazlul Huq to form the
United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...
coalition. During the East Bengali legislative election, 1954, Mujib was elected to public office for the first time. He became a member of the
East Bengal Legislative Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...
. This was the first election in East Bengal since the partition of India in 1947. The Awami League-led United Front secured a landslide victory of 223 seats in the 237 seats of the provincial assembly. Mujib himself won by a margin of 13,000 votes against his Muslim League rival Wahiduzzaman in Gopalganj. A. K. Fazlul Huq became Chief Minister and inducted Mujib into his cabinet. Mujib's initial portfolios were agriculture and forestry. After taking oath on 15 May 1954, Chief Minister Huq traveled with ministers to India and
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 d ...
. The coalition government was dismissed on 30 May 1954. Mujib was arrested upon his return to Dhaka from
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
. He was released on 23 December 1954. Governor's rule was imposed in East Bengal. The elected government was eventually restored in 1955. On 5 June 1955, Mujib was elected to a newly reconstituted second
Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan ( bn, পাকিস্তান গণপরিষদ, Pākistān Goṇoporishod; ur, , Aāin Sāz Asimblī) was established in August 1947 to frame Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, a constitution for Paki ...
. The Awami League organized a huge public meeting at
Paltan Maidan Paltan is a thana (precinct) of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It is often said to be the center of Dhaka, dividing "Old Dhaka" and "New Dhaka". Paltan was made a thana in 2005 by then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. Paltan Thana was formed ...
in Dhaka on 17 June 1955 which outlined 21 points demanding autonomy for Pakistan's provinces. Mujib was a forceful orator at the assembly in Karachi. He opposed the government's plan to rename East Bengal as
East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
as part of the One Unit scheme. On 25 August 1955, he delivered the following speech.
Sir
resident of the Constituent Assembly Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceutic ...
you will see that they want to use the phrase 'East Pakistan' instead of 'East Bengal'. We have demanded many times that you should use Bengal instead of Pakistan. The word Bengal has a history and tradition of its own. You can change it only after the people have been consulted. If you want to change, we have to go back to Bengal and ask them whether they are ready to accept it. So far as the question of one unit is concerned it can be incorporated in the constitution. Why do you want it to be taken up right now? What about the state language, Bengali? We are prepared to consider one unit with all these things. So, I appeal to my friends on the other side to allow the people to give their verdict in any way, in the form of referendum or in the form of plebiscite.
Mujib later became provincial minister of commerce and industries in the cabinet of
Ataur Rahman Khan Ataur Rahman Khan ( bn, আতাউর রহমান খান; 1 July 1907 – 7 December 1991) was a Bangladeshi lawyer, politician and writer, and served as Chief Minister of East Pakistan from 1 September 1956 – March 1958, and as the P ...
. These portfolios allowed Mujib to consolidate his popularity among the working class. The Awami League's demand for Bengali as a federal language was successfully implemented in the 1956 constitution, which declared Urdu, Bengali and English as national languages. East Bengal, however, was renamed East Pakistan. In 1957, Mujib visited the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. In 1958, he toured the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
as part of the
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
's
International Visitor Leadership Program The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of IVLP is to offer current and emerging international leader ...
. Mujib resigned from the provincial cabinet to work full time for the Awami League as a party organizer. Between 1956 and 1957, his mentor Suhrawardy served as the 5th
Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Paki ...
. Suhrawardy strengthened Pakistan's relations with the United States and China. Suhrawardy was a strong supporter of Pakistan's membership in
SEATO The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, the Philipp ...
and
CENTO The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Tur ...
. Suhrawardy's pro-Western foreign policy caused Maulana Bhashani to break away from the Awami League to form the
National Awami Party The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
. But Mujib remained loyal to Suhrawardy. The 1958 Pakistani coup d'état ended Pakistan's first era of parliamentary democracy. The 1956 constitution was abolished.
Martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
was imposed. General
Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
emerged as the country's dictator. Many politicians were imprisoned and disqualified from holding public office, including Mujib's mentor Suhrawardy. A new constitution was introduced by Ayub Khan which curtailed
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
and empowered electoral colleges to elect the country's parliament. Mujib joined the Alpha Insurance Company in 1960. He continued to work in the
insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
industry for many years.


Six point movement

Following Suhrawardy's death in 1963, Mujib became General Secretary of the All Pakistan Awami League with
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan ( ur, نواب زاده نصر الله خان) (13 November 1916 – 27 September 2003) was a senior politician in British India and later Pakistan. He was also a prominent Urdu poet. He was the only West Pakistani to ...
as its titular president. The 1962 constitution introduced a
presidential republic A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation ...
. Mujib was one of the key leaders to rally opposition to President Ayub Khan who enacted a system of electoral colleges to elect the country's parliament and president under a system known as "Basic Democracy".
Universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
was curtailed as part of the Basic Democracy scheme. Mujib supported opposition candidate Fatima Jinnah against Ayub Khan in the 1965 presidential election. Fatima Jinnah, the sister of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, drew huge crowds in East Pakistan during her presidential campaign which was supported by the Combined Opposition, including the Awami League. East Pakistan was the hotbed of opposition to the dictatorship of Ayub Khan. Mujib became popular for voicing the grievances of the Bengali population, including under-representation in the military and central bureaucracy. Despite generating most of Pakistan's
export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...
earnings and customs tax revenue, East Pakistan received a smaller budget allocation than West Pakistan. The 1965 war between India and Pakistan ended in stalemate. The
Tashkent Declaration The Tashkent Declaration was signed between India and Pakistan on 10 January 1966 to resolve the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Peace was achieved on 23 September through interventions by the Soviet Union and the United States, both of which push ...
was domestically seen as giving away Pakistan's gains to India. Ayub Khan's foreign minister
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...
resigned from the government, formed the
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
, and exploited public discontent against the regime. In 1965, Pakistan banned the works of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in state media. Censorship in state media spurred Bengali civil society groups like
Chhayanaut The Chhayanaut Sangeet Vidyatan ( bn, ছায়ানট) is an institution devoted to Bengali culture, founded in Bangladesh in 1961. As in the case of many similar organizations, it was established during Pakistani rule in Bangladesh to prom ...
to preserve Bengali culture. When Ayub Khan compared Bengalis to beasts, the poet
Sufia Kamal Begum Sufia Kamal (20 June 1911 – 20 November 1999) was a Bangladeshi poet, feminist leader, and political activist. She took part in the Bengali nationalist movement of the 1950s and civil society leader in independent Bangladesh. She led fe ...
retorted that "If the people are beasts then as the President of the Republic, you are the king of the beasts". ''
The Daily Ittefaq ''The Daily Ittefaq'' ( bn, দৈনিক ইত্তেফাক, translit. ''Doinik Ittefak'') is a Bengali-language daily newspaper. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest newspaper, and one of the most circulated newspapers in Bangladesh. Thi ...
'' led by Tofazzal Hossain voiced growing aspirations for democracy, autonomy, and nationalism. Economists in Dhaka University pointed to the massive reallocation of revenue to West Pakistan despite East Pakistan's role in generating most of Pakistan's export income.
Rehman Sobhan Rehman Sobhan ( bn, রেহমান সোবহান; born 12 March 1935) is a Bangladeshi economist. Regarded as one of the country's top public thinkers, he is the founder of the Centre for Policy Dialogue. Sobhan is an icon of the Bangl ...
paraphrased the
Two-Nation Theory The two-nation theory is an ideology of religious nationalism that influenced the decolonisation of the British Raj in South Asia. According to this ideology, Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus are two separate nations, with their own customs, ...
into the Two Economies Theory. He argued that East and West Pakistan had two fundamentally distinct economies within one country. In 1966, Mujib put forward a 6-point plan at a national conference of opposition parties in
Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
. The city of Lahore was chosen because of its symbolism as the place where the
Lahore Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlul ...
was adopted by the Muslim League in 1940. The six points called for abolishing the Basic Democracy scheme, restoring universal suffrage, devolving federal power to the provinces of East and West Pakistan, separate fiscal, monetary and trade policies for East and West Pakistan, and increased security spending for East Pakistan.
# The constitution should provide for a Federation of Pakistan in its true sense on the
Lahore Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlul ...
and the parliamentary form of government with supremacy of a legislature directly elected on the basis of the universal adult franchise. # The federal government should deal with only two subjects: defense and foreign affairs, and all other residuary subjects shall be vested in the federating states. # Two separate, but freely convertible currencies for two wings should be introduced; or if this is not feasible, there should be one currency for the whole country, but effective constitutional provisions should be introduced to stop the flight of capital from East to West Pakistan. Furthermore, a separate banking reserve should be established and separate fiscal and monetary policy be adopted for East Pakistan. # The power of taxation and revenue collection shall be vested in the federating units and the federal center will have no such power. The Federation will be entitled to a share in the state taxes to meet its expenditures. # There should be two separate accounts for the foreign exchange earnings of the two wings; the foreign exchange requirements of the federal government should be met by the two wings equally or in a ratio to be fixed; indigenous products should move free of duty between the two wings, and the constitution should empower the units to establish trade links with foreign countries. # East Pakistan should have a separate paramilitary forces.
Mujib's points catalysed public support across East Pakistan, launching what historians have termed the '' 6-point movement'' – recognized as the turning point towards East and West Pakistan becoming two nations. Mujib insisted on a federal democracy and obtained broad support from the Bengali population. In 1966, Mujib was elected as President of the Awami League.
Tajuddin Ahmad Tajuddin Ahmad ( bn, তাজউদ্দীন আহমদ; ; 23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and statesman. He led the Provisional Government of Bangladesh as its prime minister during the Bangladesh Liberat ...
succeeded him as General Secretary.


Agartala Conspiracy Case

Mujib was arrested by the Pakistan Army and after two years in jail, an official sedition trial in a military court opened. During his imprisonment between 1967 and 1969, Mujib began to write his autobiography.“The Unfinished Memoirs” by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman released in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan , The University Press Limited
/ref> In what is widely known as the
Agartala Conspiracy Case The Agartala Conspiracy Case was a sedition case in Pakistan during the rule of Ayub Khan against Awami League, brought by the government of Pakistan in 1968 against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then leader of the Awami League and East Pakistan ...
, Mujib and 34 Bengali military officers were accused by the government of colluding with Indian government agents in a scheme to divide Pakistan and threaten its unity, order and national security. The plot was alleged to have been planned in the city of
Agartala Agartala () is the capital city of the Indian state of Tripura, and is one of the largest cities in northeast India. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. The city is the seat of the Government of Tripura. It is located on ...
in the bordering Indian state of
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
. The outcry and unrest over Mujib's arrest and the charge of sedition against him destabilised East Pakistan amidst large protests and strikes. Various Bengali political and student groups added demands to address the issues of students, workers and the poor, forming a larger "11-point plan". The government caved to the mounting pressure, dropped the charges on 22 February 1969 and unconditionally released Mujib the following day. He returned to East Pakistan as a public hero. He was given a mass reception on 23 February, at the
Ramna Race Course Suhrawardy Udyan ( bn, সোহরাওয়ার্দী উদ্যান) formerly known as Ramna Race Course ground is a national memorial located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is named after Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Originally it serve ...
and conferred with the popular honorary title of ''Bangabandhu'' by Tofail Ahmed. The term ''Bangabandhu'' means ''Friend of the Bengal'' in the Bengali language. Several of Bengal's historic leaders were given similar honorary titles, including ''Sher-e-Bangla'' (''Lion of Bengal'') for A. K. Fazlul Huq, ''Deshbandhu'' (''Friend of the Nation'') for
Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called ''Deshbandhu'' (Friend of the Nation), was an Indian freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian independence movement and founder-leader of the Swara ...
, and ''Netaji'' (''The Leader'') for
Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...
.


Round Table Conference

In 1969, President Ayub Khan convened a Round Table Conference with opposition parties to find a way out of the prevailing political impasse. A few days after his release from prison, Mujib flew to
Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
to attend the Round Table Conference.Sheikh Mujibur Rahman , East Pakistan , Bangladesh , Pakistan , 1969 - YouTube
/ref> Mujib sought to bargain for East Pakistan's autonomy. Mujib was the most powerful opposition leader at the Round Table Conference. Ayub Khan shook hands with Mujib, whom Khan previously had imprisoned. Talking to British media, Mujib said "East Pakistan must get full regional autonomy. It must be self-sufficient in all respects. It must get its due share and legitimate share in the central administration. The West Pakistani people support ast Pakistani demands Only the vested interests want to divide the people of East and West Pakistan". When asked about the prospect of East Pakistan ruling West Pakistan if the Awami League gained power, Mujib replied that majority rule is important in a democracy but the people of East Pakistan had no intention to discriminate against West Pakistan, and that West Pakistani parties would continue to play an important role. Mujib toured West Pakistani cities by train after the Round Table Conference. West Pakistani crowds received him with chants of "Sheikh Saheb Zindabad!" (meaning Long Live the Sheikh!).https://www.dhakatribune.com/op-ed/2022/03/17/a-lapsed-teenager-remembers He was received by huge crowds in
Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
, Baluchistan. He spoke to West Pakistani crowds in a heavily Bengali accent of
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
There was a time when all efforts were made to erase the word "Bangla" from this land and its map. The existence of the word "Bangla" was found nowhere except in the term Bay of Bengal. I on behalf of Pakistan announce today that this land will be called "Bangladesh" instead of East Pakistan. Mujib's fiery rhetoric ignited Bengali nationalism and pro-independence aspirations among the masses, students, professionals, and intellectuals of East Pakistan. Many observers believed that Bengali nationalism was a rejection of Pakistan's founding
Two-Nation Theory The two-nation theory is an ideology of religious nationalism that influenced the decolonisation of the British Raj in South Asia. According to this ideology, Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus are two separate nations, with their own customs, ...
but Mujib never phrased his rhetoric in these terms. Mujib was able to galvanize support throughout East Pakistan, which was home to the majority of Pakistan's population. He became one of the most powerful political figures in the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. Bengalis increasingly referred to him as ''Bangabandhu''.


1970 election

Prior to the scheduled general election for 1970, one of the most powerful cyclones on record devastated East Pakistan, leaving half a million people dead and millions displaced. President
Yahya Khan General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his p ...
, who was flying back from China after the cyclone, viewed the devastation from the air. The ruling military junta was slow to respond with relief efforts. Newspapers in East Pakistan accused the federal government of "gross neglect, callous inattention, and bitter indifference".Bangladesh - Emerging Discontent, 1966-70
/ref> Mujib remarked that "We have a large army but it is left to the British Marines to bury our dead". International aid had to pour in due to the slow response of the Pakistani military regime. Bengalis were outraged at what was widely considered to be the weak and ineffective response of the federal government to the disaster. Public opinion and political parties in East Pakistan blamed the ruling military junta for the lack of relief efforts. The dissatisfaction led to divisions between East Pakistanis and West Pakistanis within the civil services, police and Pakistani Armed Forces. In the Pakistani general elections held on 7 December 1970, the Awami League won 167 out of 169 seats belonging to East Pakistan in the
National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...
, as well as a landslide in the
East Pakistan Provincial Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...
. The Awami League emerged as the single largest party in the federal parliament of Pakistan. With 167 seats, it was past the halfway mark of 150 seats in the 300 member national assembly and had the right to form a government of its own. Sheikh Mujib was widely considered to be the Prime Minister-elect, including by President Yahya Khan. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) came in second with 86 seats. The new parliament was scheduled to hold its first sitting in Dhaka, Pakistan's legislative capital under the 1962 constitution. The political crisis emerged when PPP leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto declared that his party would boycott parliament if Mujib formed the next government. Bhutto threatened to break the legs of any West Pakistani MP-elect who accepted Mujib's mandate. However,
Khan Abdul Wali Khan Khan Abdul Wali Khan ( ps, خان عبدالولي خان; 11 January 1917 – 26 January 2006) was a Pakistani secular democratic socialist and Pashtun leader, and served as president of Awami National Party. Son of the prominent Pashtun nat ...
of the Awami National Party from
North West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...
was open to accepting an Awami League government and traveled to Dhaka to meet with Mujib. Many in Pakistan's
establishment Establishment may refer to: * The Establishment, a dominant group or elite that controls a polity or an organization * The Establishment (club), a 1960s club in London, England * The Establishment (Pakistan), political terminology for the military ...
were opposed to Mujib becoming Pakistan's prime minister. At the time neither Mujib nor the Awami League had explicitly advocated political independence for East Pakistan, but smaller nationalist groups were demanding independence for ''Bangladesh''. Both Bhutto and Yahya Khan traveled to Dhaka for negotiations with the Awami League. Mujib's delegation included the notable lawyer and constitutional expert
Kamal Hossain Kamal Hossain (born 20 April 1937) is a founding leader, lawyer and politician of Bangladesh. He is known as the "father of the Bangladeshi constitution" and regarded as an icon of secular democracy in the Indian subcontinent. Hossain currently ...
. The Bengali negotiating position is extensively discussed in Kamal Hossain's autobiography ''Bangladesh: Quest for Freedom and Justice''.Bangladesh: Quest for Freedom and Justice - Kamal Hossain - Google Books
/ref> The Pakistani government was represented by former chief justice
Alvin Robert Cornelius Alvin Robert Cornelius, HPk (8 May 1903 – 21 December 1991) was a Pakistani jurist, legal philosopher and judge, serving as the 4th Chief Justice of Pakistan from 1960 until 1968. In addition, he served as Law Minister in the cabinet of Yah ...
. At the
InterContinental Dhaka The InterContinental Dhaka is a prominent luxury hotel in Ramna in central Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It opened in 1966 and is owned by the Bangladeshi government. History The Inter-Continental Dacca opened in 1966, when the city, then ...
, Bengali chefs refused to cook food for Yahya Khan. Governor
Sahabzada Yaqub Khan Lieutenant General Sahabzada Yaqub Ali Khan ( ; born 23 December 1920 – 26 January 2016) was a Pakistani politician, diplomat, military figure, pacifist, linguist, and a retired general in the Pakistani Army. Born into an Indian nobility ...
requested the Awami League to end the strike of the chefs at the InterContinental Hotel. Bhutto feared civil war, and sent a secret message to Mujib and his inner circle to arrange a meeting with them.
Mubashir Hassan Mubashir Hassan ( ur, ; 22 January 1922 – 14 March 2020), was a Pakistani politician, humanist, political adviser, and an engineer who served in the capacity of Finance Minister in Bhutto administration from 1971 until 1974. In 1967, Hass ...
met with Mujib and persuaded him to form a coalition government with Bhutto. They decided that Bhutto would serve as president, with Mujib as Prime Minister. These developments took place secretly and no Pakistan Armed Forces personnel were kept informed. Meanwhile, Bhutto increased the pressure on Yahya Khan to take a stand on dissolving the government.


Establishment of Bangladesh


Civil disobedience

The National Assembly was scheduled to meet in Dhaka on 3 March 1971. President Yahya Khan indefinitely postponed the assembly's first sitting, which triggered an uprising in East Pakistan. The cities of Dhaka,
Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
,
Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi District ...
, Rangpur, and
Khulna Khulna ( bn, খুলনা, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of Khulna District and Khulna Division. Khulna's economy is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 b ...
were engulfed with protests. Amid signs of an impending crackdown, Mujib addressed the people of East Pakistan on 7 March 1971 at the Ramna Race Course Maidan. In his speech, Mujib laid out the political history of Pakistan since partition and told the crowd that " gave blood in 1952; we won a mandate in 1954; but we were still not allowed to take up the reigns of this country".Sheikh Mujib's March 7 Speech - English Text
/ref> While Mujib stopped short of declaring outright independence, he stated that the goal of the Awami League from then on would be eventual independence. He declared that the Awami League would collect taxes and form committees in every neighborhood to organize resistance. He called on the people "to turn every house into a fortress". His most famous words from the speech were the following.
This time the struggle is for our liberation! This time the struggle is for our independence!
(For more info, see: ''
7th March Speech of Bangabandhu The 7 March Speech of Bangabandhu was a public speech given by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Founding Father of Bangladesh on 7 March 1971 at the Ramna Race Course (now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka to a gathering of over two million (2,000000) peop ...
'')
Following the speech, 17 days of civil disobedience known as the
non-cooperation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.
took place across East Pakistan. The Awami League began to collect taxes while all monetary transfers to West Pakistan were suspended. East Pakistan came under the ''de facto'' control of the Awami League. On 23 March 1971, Bangladeshi flags were flown throughout East Pakistan on Pakistan's Republic Day as a show of resistance. The Awami League and the Pakistani military leadership continued negotiations over the transfer of power. However, West Pakistani troops were being flown into the eastern wing through PIA flights while arms were being unloaded from
Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...
ships in Chittagong harbour. The Pakistani military was preparing for a crackdown.


Outbreak of war

Talks broke down on 25 March 1971 when Yahya Khan left Dhaka, declared martial law, banned the Awami League and ordered the Pakistan Army to arrest Mujib and other Bengali leaders and activists. The
Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, 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 India, Partition of British India, wh ...
launched
Operation Searchlight Operation Searchlight was the codename for a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army in an effort to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in former East Pakistan in March 1971. Pakistan retrospectively justified the opera ...
. Mujib sent telegrams to
Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
where
M. A. Hannan M. A. Hannan (February 10, 1930 – June 12, 1974) was a politician of Bangladesh. Early life M. A. Hannan born in Tehat, West Bengal on 10 February 1930. His father was Maulana Muhammad Muhibur Rahman, who was a Congress politician who later ...
from the Awami League and 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' ...
from the
East Bengal Regiment The East Bengal Regiment ( bn, ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্ট) is an infantry regiment ( regimental system type) and the largest military formation of the Bangladesh Army. History The East Bengal Regiment was for ...
announced the
Bangladeshi declaration of independence 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 ...
on Mujib's behalf. The text of Mujib's telegram sent at midnight on 26 March 1971 stated the following: Shortly after having declared the independence of Bangladesh, Mujib was arrested without charges and flown to prison in West Pakistan after midnight. Mujib was moved to West Pakistan and kept under heavy guard in a jail near
Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...
. Sheikh Mujib was later moved to
Central Jail Mianwali Central Jail Mianwali is an old and historical jail in Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan located on Rawalpindi road nearly 8 kilometers away from Mianwali city. It is noted for housing a number of prominent prisoners, the most notable of these b ...
where he remained in
solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...
for the entirety of the war.
Kamal Hossain Kamal Hossain (born 20 April 1937) is a founding leader, lawyer and politician of Bangladesh. He is known as the "father of the Bangladeshi constitution" and regarded as an icon of secular democracy in the Indian subcontinent. Hossain currently ...
was also arrested and flown to West Pakistan while many other League leaders escaped to India. Pakistani general
Rahimuddin Khan Rahimuddin Khan (21 July 1926 – 22 August 2022) was a general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 4th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1984 to 1987, after serving as the 7th governor of Balochistan from 1978 to 1984. He als ...
was appointed to preside over Mujib's
court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
trial, the proceedings of which have never been made public. Mujib was sentenced to death but his execution was deferred on three occasions. The Pakistan Army's operations in East Pakistan were widely labelled as
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
.Blood, Archer
Transcript of Selective Genocide Telex
Department of State, United States
The Pakistan Army carried out atrocities against Bengali civilians. With help from Jamaat militias like the
Razakars Razakar (رضا کار) is etymologically an Arabic word which literally means volunteer. The word is also common in Urdu language as a loanword. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, razakar is a pejorative word meaning a traitor or Judas. In Pakista ...
,
Al-Badr Al Badr is a village in Mecca Province, in western Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making ...
and Al-Shams, the army targeted Bengali intellectuals, professionals, politicians, students, and other ordinary civilians. Many Bengali women suffered
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
. Due to the deteriorating situation, large numbers of Hindus fled across the border to the neighbouring Indian states of
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
,
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
.US State Department, ''Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976'', Volume XI, ''South Asia Crisis, 1971'', Page 165 Bengali army and police regiments soon
revolted In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
and League leaders formed the Provisional Government of Bangladesh. A major insurgency led by the
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 ...
arose across East Pakistan. Despite international pressure, the Pakistani government refused to release Mujib and negotiate with him. Mujib's family was kept under house arrest during this period. General Osmani was the key military commanding officer in the Mukti Bahini. Following Indian intervention in December, the Pakistan Army surrendered to the allied forces of Bangladesh and India.


Homecoming

Upon assuming the presidency after Yahya Khan's resignation, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto responded to international pressure and released Mujib on 8 January 1972. Kamal Hossain was also released. Bhutto and Aziz Ahmed secretly met Mujib and Kamal Hossain in
Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
. Bhutto proposed a last minute attempt at mediation through the
Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...
, who was scheduled to arrive the next day.History Wars: Kamal Hossain Interview (Part 2) – আলাল ও দুলাল , ALAL O DULAL
/ref> Mujib declined the offer after consulting with Kamal Hossain. Mujib requested a flight to
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Both Mujib and Hossain were then flown to London. Enroute to London, their plane made a stopover in
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
for refuelling. In London, Mujib was welcomed by British officials and a policeman remarked "Sir, we have been praying for you". Mujib was lodged at
Claridge's Hotel Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. It has long-standing connections with royalty that have led to it sometimes being referred to as an "annexe to Buckingham Palace". Claridge's Hote ...
and later met with
British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...
Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
at
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
. Heath and Mujib discussed Bangladesh's membership of the Commonwealth. Crowds of Bengalis converged on Claridge's Hotel to get a glimpse of Mujib. Mujib held his first press conference in 9 months and addressed the international media at Claridge's Hotel. He made the following remarks at the press conference.
I am free to share the unbounded joy of freedom with my fellow countrymen. We have won our freedom in an epic liberation struggle.
Mujib was provided an
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
plane by the British government to take him back to newly independent Bangladesh. He was accompanied on the flight by members of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh, as well as an emissary of India's premier Indira Gandhi. The emissary was Indian Bengali diplomat Shashank Banerjee, who recounted Mujib smoking his trademark smoking pipe with Erinmore tobacco.13 historic hours in air , Prothom Alo
/ref> During the flight, both men agreed that Bangladesh would adopt the
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
style of parliamentary government. On Indira Gandhi's hopes for Bangladesh, Banerjee told Mujib that "on India’s eastern flank, she wished to have a friendly power, a prosperous economy, and a secular democracy, with a parliamentary system of government". Regarding the presence of Indian troops in Bangladesh, Mujib requested Banerjee to convey to the Indian government that Indian troops should be withdrawn as early as possible. The RAF
de Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four ...
made a stopover in the Middle East enroute to Dhaka. The RAF plane then made a stopover in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
. Mujib was received by
Indian President The president of India (IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu i ...
V. V. Giri Varahagiri Venkata Giri (; 10 August 1894 — 24 June 1980) was an Indian politician and activist from Berhampur in Odisha who served as the 4th president of India from 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974. He also 3rd vice president of India from ...
and
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
, as well as the entire Indian cabinet and chiefs of armed forces. Delhi was given a festive look as Mujib and Gandhi addressed a huge crowd where he publicly expressed his gratitude to Gandhi and the Indian public. After a few hours in Delhi, the RAF plane flew Mujib to Dhaka in independent Bangladesh. Before the plane landed, it circled the city to view the million people who converged on
Tejgaon Airport Tejgaon Airport is a Bangladesh Air Force military base in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It served as the country's sole international airport prior to the construction of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. History The British had built military ai ...
to greet Mujib. In Dhaka, Mujib's homecoming was described as "one of the most emotional outbursts in that emotional part of the world".Sheikh Mujib's Return to Bangladesh - January 10, 1972 Monday - YouTube
/ref> Crowds overwhelmed the airport tarmac and breached the security cordon as cabinet ministers went inside the plane to bring Mujib out. Mujib was given a
guard of honor A guard of honour (British English, GB), also honor guard (American English, US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, o ...
by members of the nascent
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 def ...
,
Bangladesh Navy The Bangladesh Navy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী, Bangladesh Nou Bahini) is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area, and the defence of imp ...
, and
Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ বিমান বাহিনী, Bangladesh Biman Bahini) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The Air Force is primarily responsible for air defence of ...
. Mujib was driven in an open truck through the dense crowds for a speech at the Ramna Race Course, where ten months earlier he had announced the liberation movement.


Governing Bangladesh

Mujib briefly assumed the provisional presidency and later took office as the prime minister. In January 1972 ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine reported that " the aftermath of the Pakistani army's rampage last March, a special team of inspectors from the World Bank observed that some cities looked "like the morning after a nuclear attack". Since then, the destruction has only been magnified. An estimated 6,000,000 homes have been destroyed, and nearly 1,400,000 farm families have been left without tools or animals to work their lands. Transportation and communications systems are totally disrupted. Roads are damaged, bridges out and inland waterways blocked. The rape of the country continued right up until the Pakistani army surrendered a month ago. In the last days of the war, West Pakistani-owned businesses—which included nearly every commercial enterprise in the country—remitted virtually all their funds to the West. Pakistan International Airlines left exactly 117 rupees ($16) in its account at the port city of Chittagong. The army also destroyed bank notes and coins, so that many areas now suffer from a severe shortage of ready cash. Private cars were picked up off the streets or confiscated from auto dealers and shipped to the West before the ports were closed. The new government of Bangladesh quickly converted East Pakistan's state apparatus into the machinery of an independent Bangladeshi state. For example, a presidential decree transformed the High Court of East Pakistan into the
Supreme Court of Bangladesh The Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশ সুপ্রীম কোর্ট) is the highest court of law in Bangladesh. It is composed of the High Court Division and the Appellate Division, and was created by Part VI C ...
.https://whiteboardmagazine.com/1874/mujib-administrations-policy-action-timeline/ The Awami League successfully reorganized the bureaucracy, framed a
written constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princi ...
, and rehabilitated war victims and survivors. In January 1972, Mujib introduced a
parliamentary republic A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number ...
through a presidential decree. The emerging state structure was influenced by the
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
model in which the Prime Minister was the most powerful leader while the President acted on the government's advice. MPs elected during the 1970 general election became members of the
Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh The Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh was the constituent assembly of Bangladesh. It was the country's provisional parliament between 1971 and 1973. In 1972, it drafted and adopted the Constitution of Bangladesh. The assembly was dominated by th ...
. The Constitution Drafting Committee led by Dr.
Kamal Hossain Kamal Hossain (born 20 April 1937) is a founding leader, lawyer and politician of Bangladesh. He is known as the "father of the Bangladeshi constitution" and regarded as an icon of secular democracy in the Indian subcontinent. Hossain currently ...
produced a draft constitution which was adopted on 4 November 1972 and came into force on 16 December 1972. In comparison to the prolonged constitution-making process in Pakistan during the 1950s, the Awami League was credited for swiftly enacting the
Constitution of Bangladesh The Constitution of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের সংবিধান — ), officially the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের ...
within just one year of independence. However, the League is criticized for this swift enactment because the Constituent Assembly was largely made up of members from the League itself; the few opposition lawmakers included
Manabendra Narayan Larma Manabendra Narayan Larma (September 15, 1939 - November 10, 1983), also known as M.N. Larma, was a Jumma Chakma politician and Member of Parliament of Bangladesh. A leading proponent of the rights of the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, he ...
, who demanded the term "
Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...
" to describe the new country's citizens instead of "
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 ...
" since not all Bangladeshis were Bengalis. Critics argued that in reality "the Awami League sought to rule by Mujib's charisma and build a political process by dicta". Mujib introduced a quota for backward regions to get access to public sector jobs. Bangladesh also faced a
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
problem because many of its guerrilla fighters from the Liberation War were roaming the country with guns. Mujib successfully called on former guerrillas to surrender their arms through public ceremonies which affirmed their status as freedom fighters during the Liberation War. The President's Relief and Welfare Fund was created to rehabilitate an estimated 10 million displaced Bangladeshis. Mujib established 11,000 new primary schools and nationalized 40,000 primary schools.


Withdrawal of Indian troops

One of Mujib's first priorities was the withdrawal of Indian troops from Bangladesh. Mujib requested the Indian government to ensure a swift withdrawal of Indian military forces from Bangladeshi territory. A timeline was drawn up for rapid withdrawal. The withdrawal took place within three months of the surrender of Pakistan to the allied forces of Bangladesh and India. A formal ceremony was held in Dhaka Stadium on 12 March 1972 in which Mujib inspected a guard of honour from the 1st
Rajput Regiment The Rajput Regiment is one of the oldest infantry regiments of the Indian Army, tracing its origins back to 1778 with the raising of the 24th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry. The 1st battalion of the regiment was formed in 1798. After World ...
. The withdrawal of Indian forces was completed by 15 March. Many countries established diplomatic relations with Bangladesh soon after the withdrawal of Indian troops.Making the Real: Rhetorical Adduction and the Bangladesh Liberation War , International Organization , Cambridge Core
/ref> India's intervention and subsequent withdrawal has been cited as a successful case of humanitarian intervention in international law.


War criminals

In 1972, Mujib told David Frost that he was a strong man but he had tears in his eyes when he saw pictures of the
1971 Bangladesh genocide The genocide in Bangladesh began on 25 March 1971 with the launch of Operation Searchlight, as the government of Pakistan, dominated by West Pakistan, began a military crackdown on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to suppress Bengali peopl ...
. He told Frost that "I am a very generous man. I always believe in forgive and forget but this is impossible on my part to forgive and forget. This was cold blooded murder in a planned way;
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
to kill my people. These people must be punished". Speaking about a potential war crimes trial, Mujib said "the world powers arranged the
Nuremberg trial The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...
s against the war criminals of fascist Germany. I think they should come forward and there should be another trial or inquiry under the United Nations". Mujib pledged to hold a trial for those accused in wartime atrocities. An estimated 11,000 local collaborators of the Pakistan Army were arrested. Their cases were heard by the Collaborators Tribunal. In 1973, the government introduced the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act to prosecute 195 Pakistani PoWs under Indian custody. In response, Pakistan filed a case against India at the International Court of Justice. The Delhi Agreement struck a compromise between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh after the three countries agreed to transfer PoWs to Pakistani custody. However, the foreign minister of Bangladesh stated that "the excesses and manifold crimes committed by those prisoners of war constituted, according to the relevant provisions of the UN General Assembly resolutions and international law, war crimes,
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
and genocide, and that there was universal consensus that persons charged with such crimes as he195 Pakistani prisoners of war should be held to account and subjected to the due process of law". In 1974, the Third International Criminal Law Conference was held at the
Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs The Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) was established in Bangladesh as a government-funded think tank on various affairs of law and foreign policy. A future president of Bangladesh, Abdus Sattar ʻAbd al-Sattār (ALA- ...
; the meeting supported calls for the creation of an international penal court.


Economic policy

Mujib declared
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
as a national policy. His land reforms restricted land ownership to less than 25 ''bighas'' of land which effectively ended all traces of the ''
zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
i'' system. Land owners with more than 25 ''bighas'' were subjected to taxes. Farmers had to sell their products at prices set by the government instead of the market. Mujib
nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...
all banks, insurance companies, and 580 industrial plants. There was little foreign investment. The stock exchange remained closed. In 1974, the government sought to invite international oil companies to explore 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 between ...
for oil and natural gas.
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...
sold five gas fields to the Bangladeshi government which set the stage for the creation of
Petrobangla PetroBangla (Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Corporation; bn, পেট্রোবাংলা) is a government-owned national oil company of Bangladesh. It explores, produces, transports, manages and sells oil, natural gas and other mineral reso ...
. The national airline Biman was set up with planes from
British Caledonian British Caledonian (BCal) was a British private independent airline which operated out of Gatwick Airport in south-east England during the 1970s and 1980s. It was created as an alternative to the British government-controlled corporation airlin ...
, the Indian government and the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
. In the industrial sector, the Bangladeshi government built the Ghorashal Fertilizer Factory. Work began on the Ashuganj Power Station. Operations in the
Port of Chittagong The Chittagong Port ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর) is the main seaport of Bangladesh. Located in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong and on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the port handles over 90 percent of Bangladesh's ...
were restored after the Soviet Navy conducted a clearing operation for
naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...
s. The Mujib government faced serious challenges, which included the resettlement of millions of people displaced in 1971, organization of food supply, health services and other necessities. The effects of the 1970 cyclone had not worn off, and the
economy of Bangladesh The economy of Bangladesh is a major economy of South Asia and a developing market economy. — — —Siddiqi, Dina M. “Miracle Worker or Womanmachine? Tracking (Trans)National Realities in Bangladeshi Factories.” Economic and Politica ...
had immensely deteriorated due to the conflict. In 1973, thousands of Bengalis arrived from Pakistan while many non-Bengali industrialists and capitalists emigrated; poorer non-Bengalis were stranded in refugee camps. Major efforts were launched to help an estimated 10 million former refugees who returned from India. The economy began to recover eventually. A five-year plan released in 1973 focused state investments into agriculture, rural infrastructure and
cottage industries The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...
. But a famine occurred in 1974 when the price of rice rose sharply. In that month there was widespread starvation in
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 ...
. Government mismanagement was blamed. Many of Mujib's disastrous socialist policies were eventually overturned by future governments. The five years of his regime marked the only intensely socialist period in Bangladesh's history. Successive governments de-emphasized socialism and promoted a market economy. By the 1990s, the Awami League returned to being a centre-left party in economics.


Secularism

While Pakistan adopted progressive reforms to Muslim family law as early as 1961, Bangladesh became the first constitutionally secular state in South Asia in 1972 when its newly adopted constitution included the word "secularism" for the first time in the region. Despite the constitution's proclamation of secularism as a state policy, Mujib banned "anti-Islamic" activities, including gambling, horse racing and alcohol. He established the
Islamic Foundation Islamic Foundation is a mosque located in Villa Park, Illinois. It was built in 1974 and was one of the largest mosques in the United States upon its completion. The mosque is connected to Islamic Foundation School, with which it is affiliated. ...
to regulate religious affairs for Muslims, including the collection of ''
zakat Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ...
'' and setting dates for religious observances like Eid and Ramadan. Under Mujib, Bangladesh joined the
Organization of the Islamic Conference An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...
(OIC) in 1974. Bangladesh was not the only Muslim-majority secular republic in the OIC; others included
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and Nigeria. Secularism was later removed from the constitution by the military dictatorship in the late 1970s. Secularism was reinstated by the Supreme Court into the constitution in 2010.


Foreign policy

Mujib's major foreign policy achievement was to secure normalization and
diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
with most countries of the world. Bangladesh joined the Commonwealth, the UN, the OIC, and the
Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
. His allies included Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
of India and
Marshal Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...
of
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. Mujib delivered a historic speech to the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
in Bengali in 1974. This was the first time Bengali was spoken in the UN General Assembly. The speech laid out the genesis of Bangladesh's foreign policy. Mujib told the assembly that " e Bengali has struggled for many centuries for the right to live a free and honourable life as independent citizens of an independent country. They expected to live in peace and harmony with all the nations in the world".Bangabandhu’s historic 1974 UN speech , theindependentbd.com
/ref>25th September 1974 Speech in UN by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - YouTube
/ref> Mujib referred to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...
. He remarked that " justice is still rampant in many parts of the world. Our Arab brothers are still fighting for the complete eviction of the invaders from their land. The equitable national rights of the
Palestinian people Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
have not yet been achieved. In spite of the acceleration of the process of abolishing colonialism, it hasn’t reached its ultimate goal. This is more strongly true of Africa, where the people of Zimbabwe and Namibia are still engaged in the final struggle for national independence and absolute freedom. Although racism has been identified as a serious offence in this council, it’s still destroying the conscience of the people". Mujib and Indira Gandhi signed the 25-year
Indo-Bangladeshi Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace The India–Bangladesh Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace was a 25-year treaty that was signed on 19 March 1972 forging close bilateral relations between India and the newly established state of Bangladesh. The treaty was also known as ...
, which complemented India's massive economic and humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh. Mujib forged a close friendship with Indira Gandhi, strongly praising India's decision to intervene in the Bangladesh Liberation War, and professed admiration and friendship for India. In the Delhi Agreement of 1974, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan pledged to work for regional stability and peace. The agreement paved the way for the return of interned Bengali officials and their families stranded in Pakistan, as well as the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan. In 1974, the Land Boundary Treaty regarding India-Bangladesh enclaves was challenged in court. The government attempted to ratify the treaty without consulting parliament. Chief Justice
Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem (29 March 1916 – 8 July 1997) was a Bangladeshi jurist and statesman. He was first Chief Justice of Bangladesh from 1972 to 1975. He became the President of Bangladesh in the aftermath of counter-coups in November 19 ...
ruled that parliament had to ratify the treaty in accordance with the constitution, otherwise the government's actions were illegal and unconstitutional. The Chief Justice dissented with the government's actions. The treaty was subsequently ratified by parliament. In his decision, Justice Sayem referred to the
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) is an international agreement regulating treaties between states. Known as the "treaty on treaties", it establishes comprehensive rules, procedures, and guidelines for how treaties are defined ...
. The Land Boundary Agreement was finally implemented in 2015.
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
became a major aid provider to the new country. Mujib attended Commonwealth summits in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, where he held talks with
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
. The
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
supplied several squadrons of
MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...
planes for the Bangladesh Air Force. Although Israel was one of the first countries to recognize Bangladesh, Bangladesh strongly supported
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
during the
Arab-Israeli War of 1973 The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab state ...
. In return, Egypt gave Bangladesh's military 44 tanks.
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
facilitated Bangladesh's entry into the OIC by brokering talks with Pakistan.


Left-wing insurgency

At the height of Mujib's power,
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
insurgents from the
Gonobahini Gonobahini ( bn, গণবাহিনী "''People's Army''") was the armed wing of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal. The group was mainly composed of former Mukti Bahini members from the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. History In 1972, a section ...
fought against Mujib's government in order to establish a
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
government. The government responded by forming an elite paramilitary force called
Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini ( bn, জাতীয় রক্ষী বাহিনী, lit=National Defense Force) was a Bangladeshi para-military force formed in 1972 by the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government. Initially formed to curb the insur ...
on 8 February 1972. Many within the Bangladeshi military viewed the new paramilitary force with suspicion. The new paramilitary force was responsible for
human rights abuses Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
against the general populace, including
extrajudicial killing An extrajudicial killing (also known as extrajudicial execution or extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whethe ...
s, shootings by
death squads A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are f ...
, and rape. Members of the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini were granted immunity from prosecution and other legal proceedings. The force swore an oath of loyalty to Mujib.


One party state

Mujib's political philosophy dramatically changed in 1975. Elections were approaching in 1977 after the end of his five year term. Mujib sensed growing dissatisfaction with his regime. He changed the constitution, declared himself president, and established a
one party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
. Ahrar Ahmed, commenting in '' The Daily Star'', noted that "Drastic changes were introduced through the adoption of the 4th amendment on Jan ary25, 1975, which radically shifted the initial focus of the constitution and turned it into a single-party, esidential system, which curtailed the powers of the rliament and the diciary, as well as the space for free speech or public assembly". Censorship was imposed in the press. Civil society groups like the Committee for Civil Liberties and Legal Aid were suppressed. The Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL), meaning the "Bangladesh Farmers Workers Peoples League", became the only legal political party. Bureaucrats and military officers were ordered to join the single party. These actions profoundly impacted Mujib's legacy. Many Bangladeshis opposed to the Awami League cite his creation of BAKSAL as the ultimate hypocrisy. The one party state lasted for 7 months till Mujib's
assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
on 15 August 1975.


Assassination

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed along with most of his family in his own
private home A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwellin ...
on 15 August 1975 during a military coup by renegade army officers. His wife, three sons, two daughters-in-law, and a host of other relatives, personal staff, and a brigadier general of the Bangladesh Army were killed as part of the coup. After the coup, four leaders of the former Provisional Government of Bangladesh were arrested and eventually
executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
on 3 November 1975. A
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
regime was established. Mujib's killers included fifteen junior army officers with ranks of
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
s,
major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
s, lieutenants and havildars. They were backed up by Awami League politician
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 ...
who usurped the presidency. On the day of the coup, the junior officers ordered their soldiers to take over the national radio and television stations. The army chief
K. M. Shafiullah Kazi Mohammed Shafiullah Bir Uttam (born 2 September 1934), also known as K. M. Shafiullah, is a retired Bangladeshi general, former Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army, and former Member of Parliament. As the Second in Command of Seco ...
could not stop the coup. His deputy
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' ...
was informed about preparations for the coup but did not stop the coup plotters. Zia is considered to be the main benefactor of the coup as it paved the way for his rise to power as Bangladesh's ruler. The only survivors from Mujib's family were his daughters
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...
and
Sheikh Rehana Sheikh Rehana Siddiq (born 13 September 1957) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician. She is the younger sister of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the daughter of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She is also the mother ...
, who were visiting Hasina's physicist husband in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
at the time. On 26 September 1975, the martial law regime introduced the Indemnity Ordinance, 1975 which gave legal immunity to all persons involved in the coup of 15 August 1975. Mujib was warned about a possible coup by Indian intelligence. Mujib shrugged off these warnings by saying his own people would never hurt him. His assassins continued to enjoy immunity from prosecution for 26 years. The Indemnity Ordinance was repealed in 1996 after his daughter Sheikh Hasina was elected as Prime Minister. Hasina subsequently initiated a murder case in the courts of Bangladesh. Several of the fifteen assassins, including coup leader Syed Faruque Rahman, were arrested and put on trial. Others like
Khandaker Abdur Rashid Khandaker Abdur Rashid is a Bangladesh Army officer and a fugitive assassin of the first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujib. Biography Khandaker Abdur Rashid was born on 1946 in the district of Comilla, in British India. He served in the Pak ...
became fugitives. The fifteen were given the death penalty by a court in 1998. Five of the convicts were hanged in 2010. A sixth convict was hanged in 2020. Of the remaining fugitives, a few have died or are in hiding. In 2022, the Bangladeshi government reported that five fugitives are still on the run, including coup leader Rashid. One of the convicted assassins is living in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. One of the convicts is living in the United States. Bangladesh has requested Canada and the United States to deport the fugitives following the precedent set by the deportation of
A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed (died 28 January 2010) was a Bangladesh Army officer who was convicted in absentia and executed for the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 28 January 2010, Rahman was hanged along with Syed Faruque Rahman, Sultan ...
in 2007.


Family

Mujib was 18 years old when he married Fazilatunnesa. Together they had two daughters—
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...
and
Sheikh Rehana Sheikh Rehana Siddiq (born 13 September 1957) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician. She is the younger sister of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the daughter of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She is also the mother ...
—and three sons— Sheikh Kamal,
Sheikh Jamal Sheikh Jamal (28 April 1954 – 15 August 1975) was the second son of Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh. Early life Jamal was born at Tungipara, Gopalganj on 28 April 1954. His father was She ...
, and Sheikh Rasel. Kamal was an organizer of the Mukti Bahini guerrilla struggle in 1971 and received a wartime commission in the Bangladesh Army during the Liberation War. Jamal was trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Great Britain and later joined 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 def ...
as a
Commissioned Officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
. The Sheikh family was under house arrest during the Bangladesh Liberation War until 17 December, Sheikh Kamal and Jamal found the means to escape and cross over to a liberated zone, where they joined the struggle to free the country. Almost the entire Sheikh family was assassinated on 15 August 1975 during a military coup d'état. Only
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...
and
Sheikh Rehana Sheikh Rehana Siddiq (born 13 September 1957) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician. She is the younger sister of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the daughter of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She is also the mother ...
, who were visiting
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, survived. Mujib is the maternal grandfather of
Tulip Siddiq Tulip Rizwana Siddiq ( bn, টিউলিপ রেজওয়ানা সিদ্দীক; born 16 September 1982) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Kilburn since 2015. A member of the L ...
, British MP for Hampstead and Kilburn since the 2015 UK general election.
Sajeeb Wazed Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed ( bn, সজীব আহমেদ ওয়াজেদ; born 27 July 1971), also known as Sajeeb Wazed Joy (), is a Bangladeshi businessman and politician. He is a member of the Awami League and serves as Advisor to the Gove ...
is his eldest grandson.


Legacy

In 2004, listeners of the
BBC Bangla BBC Bangla ( bn, বিবিসি বাংলা) is a Bengali language service of the BBC World Service. History BBC Bangla was launched on 11 October 1941 with a 15-minute programme under the BBC World Service. BBC Bangla's headquarters us ...
radio service ranked Mujib first among the '' 20 Greatest Bengalis'', ahead of Asia's first Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
; Bangladesh's national poet
Kazi Nazrul Islam Kazi Nazrul Islam ( bn, কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম, ; 24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, Bengali literature, writer, Bangladeshi music, musician, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul is regarded as one ...
; and other Bengali icons like
Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...
,
Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...
,
Titumir Syed Mīr Nisār ʿAlī ( bn, সৈয়দ মীর নিসার আলী তিতুমীর; 27 January 1782 – 19 November 1831), better known as Titumir ( bn, তিতুমীর, links=no), was a Bengali freedom fighter, who de ...
, Begum Rokeya,
Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance ...
, and
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' ...
. The survey was modelled on the BBC's '' 100 Greatest Britons'' poll. In 2011, the
parliament of Bangladesh The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of B ...
passed the 15th amendment to the country's constitution which referred to Mujib as the "Father of the Nation" in attached fifth, sixth, and seventh schedules covering his 7th March Speech, the declaration of independence on 26 March 1971, and the Proclamation of Independence issued by the Provisional Government on 10 April 1971. In 2020, the
government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...
celebrated
Mujib Year Mujib Year ( bn, মুজিব বর্ষ) was the year declared to celebrate on the occasion of the centennial birth anniversary of the founding leader of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Government of Bangladesh had declared the year ...
to mark 100 years since the birth of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1920. The commemorations preceded Bangladesh's 50th anniversary of independence in 2021. Mujib continues to be a revered, popular, divisive, and controversial figure in Bangladesh. His party, the Awami League, has built a personality cult around his legacy. Opponents of the League are fierce critics of Mujib's
populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
and authoritarianism, including his creation of BAKSAL. League supporters and other Bangladeshis credit Mujib for successfully leading the country to independence in 1971. However, Mujib's socialist and economic policies after 1971 are largely frowned upon except among his most loyal supporters and family members. Many roads, institutions, military bases, bridges and other places in Bangladesh are named in his honour. Under the Awami League's rule, Mujib's picture is printed on the national currency
Bangladeshi taka The Bangladeshi taka ( bn, টাকা, sign: , code: BDT, short form: Tk) is the currency of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. In Unicode, it is encoded at . Issuance of bank notes 10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, while ...
. Bangladeshis across the political divide often refer to him as Bangabandhu out of respect. A
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
is also named after him. Mujib is remembered in India as an ally.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Road Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Road (Bengali: বঙ্গবন্ধু শেখ মুজিব সড়ক, Hindi: बंगबंधु शेख मुजीब मार्ग, Urdu: ) is a street situated in Lutyens' Delhi at the centre of ...
in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
and an avenue in
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 ...
in the Indian state of
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
are named in his honour. The Palestinian Authority named a street in
Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...
in honour of Mujib. Bangabandhu Boulevard in
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
is named after Mujib. There is also a Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Street in
Port Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's e ...
,
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
. Sheikh Mujib Way in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
in the United States is named after him. Archer K. Blood described Mujib personally as urbane and charming.The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide - Gary J. Bass - Google Books
/ref> Politically, Gary Bass writes that Archer Blood noted that "Mujib’s very appearance suggested raw power, a power drawn from the masses and from his own strong personality. He was tall and sturdy, with rugged features and intense eyes". Blood found him serene and confident amid the turmoil, but eager for power. Blood wrote that "On the rostrum he is a fiery orator who can mesmerize hundreds of thousands in a pouring rain. Mujib has something of a messianic complex which has been reinforced by the heady experience of mass adulation. He talks of ‘my people, my land, my forests, my rivers.’ It seems clear that he views himself as the personification of Bengali aspirations". According to ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine, "A man of vitality and vehemence, Mujib became the political Gandhi of the Bengalis, symbolizing their hopes and voicing their grievances. Not even Pakistan's founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, drew the million-strong throngs that Mujib has attracted in Dacca. Nor, for that matter, has any subcontinent politician since Gandhi's day spent so much time behind bars for his political beliefs".::: Star Weekend Magazine :::
/ref> An Egyptian journalist noted that "Sheikh Mujibur Rahman does not belong to Bangladesh alone. He is the harbinger of freedom for all Bengalis. His Bengali nationalism is the new emergence of Bengali civilization and culture. Mujib is the hero of the Bengalis, in the past and in the times that are".
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
remarked that "I have not seen the Himalayas. But I have seen Sheikh Mujib. In personality and in courage, this man is the Himalayas. I have thus had the experience of witnessing the Himalayas". Mujib cited
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
,
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
,
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
, Sukarno and
Kemal Ataturk Kemal may refer to: ;People * Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a Turkish politician and the first president of Turkey * Kemal (name), a common Turkish name ;Places * Kemalpaşa, İzmir Province, Turkey * Mustafakemalpaşa, Bursa Province, Turkey ;See als ...
as inspirations during an interview with David Frost.Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with David Frost - YouTube
/ref> Some journalists have criticized Mujib for being whimsical, "not serious", and a madman.


Portrayals


Song

* " Shono Ekti Mujiburer Theke", a 1971 song about him, was inspiration for freedom fighters during
liberation war of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali n ...
. * A song was written about him in 1990 and recorded in 1991 named "
Jodi Raat Pohale Shona Jeto "Jodi Raat Pohale Shona Jeto" is a song from the 1991 Bangladeshi music album named ''Jonotar Nouka'' (). The lyricist of this modern music was Hasan Motiur Rahman. Moloy Kumar Ganguly composed sang originally this song to the tune with music arr ...
" became popular during election.


Books

*
Humayun Ahmed Humayun Ahmed (; 13 November 1948 – 19 July 2012) was a Bangladeshi novelist, dramatist, screenwriter, filmmaker, songwriter, scholar, and professor. His breakthrough was his debut novel '' Nondito Noroke'' published in 1972. He wrote over 20 ...
included Sheikh Mujib in two of his historical novels, 2004's ''
Jochona O Jononir Golpo ''Jochna O Jononir Golpo'' ( bn, জোছনা ও জননীর গল্প, ) is a novel by Humayun Ahmed. The novel was published in February, 2004.
'' and 2012's '' Deyal''. * Neamat Imam's novel ''
The Black Coat ''The Black Coat'' is a fiction novel by Bangladeshi-Canadian author Neamat Imam. It is "a meditation on power, greed and the human cost of politics." ''The Sunday Guardian'' commented that it is "destined to be a future classic" and will be us ...
'' depicts Mujib as a dictator. * In 2015, the
Centre for Research and Information Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
(CRI) department of
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 ...
published a four-part children's
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
named ''Mujib'' based on Sheikh Mujib's two autobiographies. * In March 2022, ''Muktidata Sheikh Mujib'' (Liberator Sheikh Mujib), a memoir of Rahman, was published.


Films

* In the 1974 Bangladeshi film '' Sangram'', Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was portrayed by himself. * In the 2014 Indian film '' Children of War'', Prodip Ganguly portrayed of Sheikh Mujib. * In the 2018 documentary film '' Hasina: A Daughter's Tale'', Sheikh Mujib's daughter
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...
spoke about the assassination of her father. * On 30 March 2021, '' Tungiparar Miya Bhai'', a biopic of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was released. * On 1 October 2021, ''Mujib Amar Pita'', an animated film about Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was released. * On 31 December 2021, '' Chironjeeb Mujib'', another biopic of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was released. * On 21 January 2021, '' Mujib: The Making of a Nation'', a biopic of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman directed by
Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...
has begun production.


Bibliography

Mujib is today celebrated as a political
diarist A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal d ...
. He kept a diary during his early political career in the 1940s and 1950s. This diary was translated into English by
Fakrul Alam Fakrul Alam (born 20 July 1951) is a Bangladeshi academic, writer, and translator. He writes on literary matters and postcolonial issues and translated works of Jibanananda Das and Rabindranath Tagore into English. He is the recipient of Bangla ...
and published as ''
The Unfinished Memoirs ''The Unfinished Memories'' ( bn, অসমাপ্ত আত্মজীবনী) is the autobiography by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founding father of Bangladesh. Background Inspired by his wife, Fazilatunnesa Mujib, Mujib started writing his ...
''. The book was published in both
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
by
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
respectively. The book has since been translated into French, Spanish, Korean, Arabic, and many other languages. Mujib also started writing his autobiography while in prison between 1967 and 1969; this diary was published in Bengali as ''
The Prison Diaries ''Karagarer Rojnamcha'' ( bn, কারাগারের রোজনামচা; English: ''The Prison Diaries'') is the second memoir by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founding father and the 1st President of Bangladesh. Bangla Academy published th ...
''. Mujib wrote a
travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or ...
of his visits to China during the 1950s. This travelogue was published as the book ''The New China as I Saw''. * * *


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* * * * * * * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Sheikh Mujibur 1920 births 1975 deaths Prime Ministers of Bangladesh 1st Jatiya Sangsad members Assassinated Bangladeshi politicians Assassinated heads of state Awami League politicians General Secretaries of Awami League Presidents of the Awami League Bengali independence activists Bengali Muslims Burials at Banani Graveyard Pakistan Movement activists from Bengal Pakistani MNAs 1955–1958 People from Gopalganj District, Bangladesh People of British India People murdered in Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman family Presidents of Bangladesh Recipients of the Independence Day Award Maulana Azad College alumni University of Dhaka alumni Deaths by firearm in Bangladesh Bangladeshi people of Arab descent 20th-century Bengalis 20th-century Muslims Muslim socialists Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League executive committee members Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members 1975 murders in Bangladesh