Ziaur Rahman

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of Manchester | format = PDF | accessdate = 2006-07-07 }}</ref> Zia launched major projects to construct irrigation canals, power stations, dams, roads and other public works. Directing his campaign to mobilise rural support and development, Zia established Gram Sarkar (Village Councils) system of self-government and the "Village Defence Party" system of security and crime prevention. Programmes to promote primary and adult education on a mass scale were initiated and focused mainly across rural Bangladesh. During this period, Bangladesh's economy achieved fast economic and industrial growth.

Zia began reorienting Bangladesh's foreign policy, addressing the concerns of nationalists who believed that Bangladesh was reliant on Indian economic and military aid. Zia withdrew from his predecessors' affinity with the Soviet bloc, developing closer relations with the United States and Western Europe. Zia also moved to harmonise ties with Saudi Arabia and the People's Republic of China, who had opposed Bangladesh's creation and had not recognised it till 1975. Zia also dropped the demands of reparations and an official apology demanded by Sheikh Mujib and moved to normalise relations with Pakistan. While distancing Bangladesh from India, Zia sought to improve ties with other Islamic nations. Zia's move towards Islamic state policies improved the nation's standing in the Middle East. Zia also proposed an organisation of the nations of South Asia to bolster economic and political co-operation at a regional level. This proposal materialised in 1985 with the creation of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation in Dhaka.

Islam and nationalism

File:ZiaPic16.jpg

President Zia at a BNP conference

Zia moved to lead the nation in a new direction, significantly different from the ideology and agenda of Sheikh Mujib. He issued a proclamation order amending the constitution, increasing the direct influence and role of Islam on the government. In the preamble, he inserted the salutation "Bismillahir-Rahmaanir-Rahim" (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful). In Article 8(1) and 8(1A) the statement "absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah" was added, replacing the commitment to secularism. Socialism was redefined as "economic and social justice." Zia further introduced provisions to allow Muslims to practice the social and legal injunctions of the Shariat and Sunnah. In Article 25(2), Zia introduced the principle that "the state shall endeavour to consolidate, preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim countries based on Islamic solidarity." Zia's edits to the constitution redefined the nature of the republic from the secularism laid out by Sheikh Mujib and his supporters. Islamic religious education was introduced as a compulsory subject in Bangladeshi schools, with provisions for non-Muslim students to learn of their own religions.

In public speeches and policies that he formulated, Zia began expounding "Bangladeshi nationalism," as opposed to Mujib's assertion of a Bengali national identity. Zia emphasised the national role of Islam (as practised by the majority of Bangladeshis). Claiming to promote an inclusive national identity, Zia reached out to non-Bengali minorities such as the Santals, Garos, Manipuris and Chakmas, as well as the Urdu-speaking peoples of Bihari origin. However, many of these groups were predominantly Hindu and Buddhist and were alienated by Zia's promotion of political Islam. In an effort to promote cultural assimilation and economic development, Zia appointed a Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Commission in 1976, but resisted holding a political dialogue with the representatives of the hill tribes on the issue of autonomy and cultural self-preservation. On July 2 1977 Ziaur Rahman organised a tribal convention to promote a dialogue between the government and tribal groups. However, most cultural and political issues would remain unresolved and intermittent incidents of inter-community violence and militancy occurred throughout Zia's rule.

Indemnity

As Bangladesh's ruler, Zia enacted several controversial measures, ostensibly to win the support of Islamic political parties and opponents of the Awami League. He revoked the ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami, which was widely believed to have collaborated with the Pakistani army and in committing war crimes against civilians. Golam Azam, the exiled chief of the Jammat-e-Islami, was allowed to come back in July 1978 with a Pakistani passport on a visitor's visa, and he remained in Bangladesh following its expiry. He was not brought to trial over his alleged role in committing wartime atrocities, and Jamaat leaders were appointed in ministerial posts. Zia also rehabilitated Shah Azizur Rahman, a high-profile opponent of the creation of Bangladesh, and several men accused of murdering Sheikh Mujib. Using the BNP's two-thirds majority in parliament, Zia obtained the passage of the Indemnity Act, which stated that no trial will happen and no case can be made for the assassination of Sheikh Mujib. The Indemnity Act was later incorporated as the 5th amendment to the constitution, legalising the military coups, martial law and other political events between 1975 to 1979. Zia also gave Sheikh Mujib's assassins Major Dalim, Major Rashid, and Major Faruk jobs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in subsequent years they were appointed ambassadors of Bangladesh to African and Middle Eastern nations. Azizur Rahman was appointed Bangladesh's prime minister, serving through Zia's tenure in the presidency.

Assassination

Main article: Assassination of Ziaur Rahman

File:Ziapic2.jpg

Large processions follow the funeral of Zia

During his term of power, Zia was criticised for ruthless treatment of his political opposition. Although he enjoyed overall popularity and public confidence, Zia's rehabilitation of some of the most controversial men in Bangladesh aroused fierce opposition from the supporters of the Awami League and veterans of the Mukti Bahini. Amidst speculation and fears of unrest, Zia went on tour to Chittagong on May 29 1981 to help resolve an intra-party political dispute in the regional BNP. Zia and his entourage stayed overnight at the Chittagong Circuit House, a rest house. In the early hours of the morning of May 30, he was assassinated by a group of army officers along with six bodyguards and two aides.

Zia's killing came as a central part of a botched military coup attempt led by Major General Abul Monjur, who announced the killing and his take-over of the government on radio. Monjur had earlier been a senior army commander and had been transferred to Chittagong in 1977. He was scheduled for a new transfer to a non-command position in Dhaka and was reportedly disappointed over his impending demotion. However, Vice President Abdus Sattar quickly reaffirmed control of the government, placed the military on high alert and ordered it to track down the conspirators and quash the revolt. The army, under its chief of staff Gen. Ershad remained loyal to the Dhaka government and moved to quickly put down the rebellion and execute Monjur. In the trials that followed, a sizable number of officers and enlisted men received death penalty for complicity. Zia was buried at the Chandrima Uddan in the locality of Sher-e-Banglanagar in Dhaka. Large processions of supporters and BNP activists attended the funeral. Vice President Abdus Sattar immediately succeeded him, and led the BNP to victory in elections held in 1981. However, army chief Gen. Ershad overthrew this government in a coup on March 24 1982.

Criticism and legacy

Ziaur Rahman is considered one of the most important and controversial political leaders of Bangladesh. Zia is criticised by historians and the supporters of the Awami League for rehabilitating the assassins of Mujibur Rahman. Jurists regard this as a gross obstruction of justice and legitimisation of political murder, to which Zia himself fell victim. Also deeply controversial is Zia's rehabilitation of persons and political groups that had collaborated with the Pakistani army in carrying out atrocities against intellectuals and religious minorities. Zia is also criticised for creating a "managed democracy," which remained largely beholden to the military and his political party. In a verdict passed on August 30 2005 the Dhaka High Court declared the seizures of power by military coups between 1975 and 1979, including Zia's military regime as "unlawful and unconstitutional." Zia's martial law decrees, his ascendancy to the presidency in 1977 and the referendum held in 1978 were declared "unknown to the constitution." The court ruling overruled the Indemnity Act by which these very events were accorded a legal status and enshrined in the constitution.

While credited for ending the disorder of the final years of Sheikh Mujib's rule, Zia is assailed by his critics for suppressing opposition.. However, Zia's economic reforms are credited with rebuilding the economy and his move towards Islamisation brought him the support of much of Bangladesh's Muslim-majority population. His nationalist vision also appealed to many who resented the nation's strategic alliance with India and the Soviet Union. Moving away from Mujib's secularism, Zia asserted an Islamic political identity for Bangladesh and of membership in the wider community of Muslim nations. However, these measures also isolated and embittered many ethnic and religious minorities in Bangladesh, laying in the opinion of many historians the foundations of future communal and ethnic conflicts.

Ziaur Rahman is survived by his wife Begum Khaleda Zia and his sons Tareq Rahman and Arafat Rahman. Begum Khaleda Zia became the head of the BNP and organised a coalition of political parties opposed to Ershad's regime. In elections held in 1991, Begum Khaleda Zia led the BNP to victory and became prime minister. She lost the 1996 elections to the Awami League's Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the daughter of Mujibur Rahman but returned to power in 2001. Tareq Rahman serves as BNP senior joint secretary, regarded by many as the architect of the BNP's 2001 election victory. Zia's life and legacy are celebrated widely. November 7 each year is celebrated as National Revolution and Solidarity Day, commemorating the military coup that returned Zia to power. Zia is the namesake of many public institutions, including the Zia International Airport in Dhaka, which is the busiest airport in the nation. Zia has also been honoured by the SAARC for his statesmanship and vision.

References

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