G M Rajib Hossain November 7 is a day of exceptional significance in the history of independent Bangladesh. On this day in 1975, a new chapter was written in the country’s history through the uprising of soldiers and civilians. A new Bangladesh was born. Many regard it as a turning point in history, while others consider it a significant historical event in the context of the country’s independent existence, sovereignty and national unity. Fifty-one years ago, on this day, the then Chief of Army Staff, Major General Ziaur Rahman, emerged as the central figure in Bangladesh. He was a fearless freedom fighter in the 1971 Liberation War, a sector commander, the commander of Z Force and the great proclaimer of independence. November 7 is one of the brightest days in our national life. This unique day, deeply embedded in our national consciousness, is observed in Bangladesh as National Revolution and Solidarity Day. In essence, November 7 determined the course of the country’s social, political and economic emancipation. The unrest within the armed forces came to an end, and the chain of command was restored. However, Bangladesh had to pass through a period of turmoil before reaching this stage of stability. There were coups and counter-coups within the armed forces. Taking advantage of the situation, the country also had to confront domestic and foreign conspiracies that had raised their heads. According to historians, November 7 was the culmination of several important and tragic events that unfolded in 1975. Earlier that year, on August 15, President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed in a military coup. Several army officers who had fought in the Liberation War led the coup, citing allegations that the government had failed to prevent enforced disappearances and killings by security forces, widespread corruption, nepotism, abuses of power and looting by Awami League leaders and activists, and the destruction of democracy through the establishment of one-party misrule. Remarkably, following Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s death in a coup carried out by a section of the armed forces, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, who had served as Commerce Minister in his BAKSAL government, declared himself President. Twenty-one of the 23 ministers of the outgoing government joined him. The then Chief of Army Staff, Major General K M Shafiullah; Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral M H Khan; Chief of Air Staff A K Khandker; and BDR chief Khalilur Rahman also pledged allegiance to his government. The heads of the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini and the police force likewise expressed their loyalty to the new government. Meanwhile, the officers who had staged the coup became constant companions of President Mostaq Ahmad at Bangabhaban. They continued to give him directions on various matters. This created simmering resentment among senior army officers. Against this backdrop, Major General Ziaur Rahman was appointed Chief of Army Staff on August 24. General (retd) M A G Osmani was appointed the President’s Defence Adviser. In addition, a post titled ‘Chief of Defence Staff’ was created above the service chiefs to coordinate the three services. Khalilur Rahman, Director General of the BDR, was appointed to the post. President Mostaq cleverly took this step to keep the service chiefs under pressure. Added to this was the display of power by Major Faruk and Rashid, the officers who had staged the August 15 coup and were staying at Bangabhaban. All these developments created an unstable situation across the country. An atmosphere of tension and uncertainty prevailed everywhere. November arrived against this backdrop. Three valiant freedom fighters became the catalysts of the events of that month: Army Chief Major General Ziaur Rahman, Chief of General Staff of the Army Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf, and retired Lieutenant Colonel Taher. Of the three, Ziaur Rahman was more popular among the people and members of the armed forces. On the night of March 25, 1971, following the brutal attack by the Pakistan military on unarmed Bangladeshis, the political leadership failed to provide the people with the necessary guidance. At that horrific moment, Ziaur Rahman revolted against Pakistan with his military unit in Chattogram and joined the Liberation War. He also became a source of inspiration for the people by announcing the declaration of independence from the provisional Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra in Chattogram. In his book A General’s Silent Testimony, another valiant freedom fighter, Major General (retd) Moinul Hossain Chowdhury, states that after General Zia became Chief of Army Staff, Khaled Mosharraf became apprehensive about his own position in the army. Rumours of various kinds continued to spread during this period. People across the country were living in fear, while unrest prevailed in the cantonments. The country was constantly passing through a period of uncertainty. Against this backdrop, on the night of November 2, Chief of General Staff Khaled Mosharraf staged a coup in the cantonment with Colonel Shafaat Jamil, commander of the 46 Brigade in Dhaka, alongside him. The coup was initially planned for October 28, but the date was later changed. Fearing that his future was bleak, Khaled Mosharraf wanted to remove Ziaur Rahman. On the night of November 2, Army Chief Ziaur Rahman and his wife were placed under house arrest, and he was forced to resign from his position in the army. Everything was proceeding according to plan. Early on November 3, fighter aircraft conducted manoeuvres over Dhaka in support of Khaled Mosharraf’s coup. Through an understanding with Khaled Mosharraf brokered by General Osmani, 15 people, including Rashid, Faruk and Dalim, who had been involved in the August 15 coup, were allowed to fly to Bangkok. Writer and researcher Mohiuddin Ahmed mentions in his book The Rise and Fall of JASAD: Politics in Turbulent Times that they left Dhaka for Bangkok on a special aircraft at 7.30 pm. Another tragic event took place on November 3, which has gone down in history as the Jail Killing. After Khondaker Mostaq became President, four Awami League leaders—Tajuddin Ahmad, Nazrul Islam, Mansur Ali and A H M Qamaruzzaman—were arrested. They had since been held at Dhaka Central Jail. During Khaled Mosharraf’s uprising, on the night of November 3, several soldiers of the 1st Bengal Lancers Tank Regiment brutally killed the four leaders inside the prison, allegedly on the instructions of President Mostaq and Majors Rashid and Faruk, according to Moinul Hossain, Bir Bikram, in his book. Khaled Mosharraf became the new Chief of Army Staff on November 4. He was known as pro-India. On that day, a procession was organised by the Bangladesh Chhatra League. Awami League leader Rashed Mosharraf, Khaled Mosharraf’s brother, and their mother took part in it. As a result, many people, including a large section of the armed forces, came to believe that the coup had been carried out in favour of the Awami League and pro-India elements. On the night of November 4, Khondaker Mostaq resigned as President and was placed under house arrest on the same day. On November 6, Chief Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem was sworn in as the new President. As mentioned earlier, Ziaur Rahman enjoyed immense popularity within the army. His confinement and Khaled Mosharraf’s assumption of the post of Chief of Army Staff therefore angered many. A section of those aggrieved staged a counter-coup at midnight on November 6. Members of the ‘Biplobi Sainik Sangstha’ (Revolutionary Soldiers’ Organisation), loyal to retired Colonel Taher, joined them. The Biplobi Sainik Sangstha was a clandestine organisation of soldiers. Its members were mainly loyal to Major Jalil, who had commanded Sector 9 during the Liberation War. After Jalil joined the political party JASAD, he essentially assigned Colonel Taher the responsibility of maintaining contact with members of the armed forces. There was considerable resentment and discontent among military personnel. Taking advantage of this situation, Taher sought to replace the conventional army with a revolutionary people’s army modelled on that of communist China. Taher emerged on November 7 largely with the ambition of coming to power by riding on Ziaur Rahman’s popularity. He wanted to use Ziaur Rahman as his trump card. As part of the plan, members of JASAD’s Biplobi Sainik Sangstha distributed leaflets among military personnel to incite ordinary soldiers. They even spread the misguided slogan of eliminating officers from the armed forces. Some of their slogans were: ‘Soldiers, soldiers, brothers all; we want the officers’ blood!’ and ‘Soldiers, soldiers, brothers all; no officer above a Subedar!’ Taher perhaps failed to appreciate the extent of Ziaur Rahman’s popularity. Loyal troops of General Zia, along with officers and soldiers of the 2nd Field Artillery, had already sensed the bloodshed planned by Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Taher. They therefore secretly drew up a separate pre-emptive plan. Accordingly, at 12.01 am on the night between November 6 and 7—one hour before the JASAD uprising was due to begin—the soldiers of the 2nd Field Artillery, led by Major Mohiuddin and Subedar Major Anisul Haque, went to the residence of Major General Ziaur Rahman, freed him and carried him on their shoulders to the headquarters of the 2nd Field Artillery. Shortly afterwards, Taher arrived there. He wanted to take Zia out of the cantonment, but failed. At Taher’s request, Ziaur Rahman did not go to the radio station that day. Taher’s intention was to use Ziaur Rahman to announce a socialist-style state structure. As part of this plan, members of Taher’s Biplobi Sainik Sangstha also indiscriminately killed several army officers. However, instead of leaving the cantonment with Taher, Ziaur Rahman took the initiative to restore discipline in the army. The November 7 uprising had no prior plan. Nor was there any predetermined leader of the uprising. It was essentially Khaled Mosharraf’s intention to seize power by placing the popular Army Chief Ziaur Rahman under house arrest that triggered the spontaneous soldiers’ revolution. The unrest within the armed forces also acted as one of the catalysts for the revolution. Meanwhile, in the name of rescuing Ziaur Rahman from house arrest, Taher was absorbed in the pursuit of realising the fanciful dream of implementing the political philosophy of his party, JASAD, known as Scientific Socialism. But neither Khaled Mosharraf nor Taher succeeded. Ziaur Rahman surpassed both of them in ability, judgement and popularity. Ultimately, Ziaur Rahman emerged as the central figure in the events, and everything came under his control. General Ziaur Rahman was capable of making swift decisions at critical moments, even at the risk of his life. He had demonstrated this once before, on March 26, 1971. His declaration of independence helped a stunned nation regain its bearings that day. He was one of the most courageous freedom fighters. At the same time, he was a disciplined soldier who respected the law. These qualities took Ziaur Rahman to the height of popularity. Zia became a symbol of the hopes and aspirations of ordinary people. It was in support of Ziaur Rahman that soldiers and members of the general public took to the streets on November 7. After being freed from confinement, he became the focal point of inspiration for the Soldiers-People’s Revolution. November 7 was not merely another coup or a day of transfer of power in the past; it was a historic turning point that sought to steer a state and its armed forces, devastated by extreme uncertainty, division and disorder, back towards stability. In the first week of November 2975, when Bangladesh’s state structure and military discipline were facing a profound crisis amid successive coups and counter-coups, killings and divisions within the armed forces, the events of November 7 broke the deadlock and ushered in a new political reality. Ziaur Rahman’s release, his initiative to restore discipline and unity in the army, and his efforts to bring stability back to state administration had a significant impact on the subsequent course of Bangladesh. The day’s historical significance extended beyond the armed forces; it also lay in the restoration of normality and stability in the administration, state institutions and society as a whole. Ziaur Rahman’s identity as a valiant freedom fighter, his acceptance within the army and his ability to provide leadership in times of crisis brought him to the centre of national politics. The impact of November 7 on the history of Bangladesh’s state stability, military discipline, national unity and political development cannot be denied. The events of that day did not merely change the centre of power; they also opened a path for a state in crisis to stand on its feet again. November 7 is therefore not simply a memorable date in Bangladesh’s history, but a significant historical chapter in the establishment of stability in the state and society. And General Ziaur Rahm Rahman was the principal figure in that chapter. (The writer is a senior journalist and Chief Reporter of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS),the article was written in Bengali which has been translated into English by Harun Al Nasif, City Editor, BSS)