Post-1975 policies of Zia shaped Bangladesh’s development: Stefan Dercon
Professor Stefan Dercon of Oxford University explained Bangladesh’s social and economic development.
Foreign policy under Ziaur Rahman
Mohammad Amjad Hossain Yesterday May 30 was President Ziaur Rahman’s 27th anniversary of death. On the occasion, one feels it worth to recall his foreign policy among other achievements. When Ziaur Rahman took over on April 21, 1977, he not only consolidated his power base but also made foreign policy dynamic. Initially, he had made…
Analysis: The Garments Takeoff
Mushtaq Husain Khan [This article is extracted from a working paper of Professor Mushtaq Husain Khan of SOAS University of London to allow the readers to understand the story of Bangladesh’s RMG industry in the late 1970s and the role of Ziaur Rahman] The growth of the ready-made garments industry in Bangladesh has often been…
Memoir: Zia’s wristwatch
AKM Maidul Islam One day I was in a helicopter with President Zia. It was around half-past nine that day. But the wristwatch of our President was showing half-past seven. So I told him, sir, your wristwatch is not working. He laughed and told me, ‘I had a good watch actually but I lost it…
Ziaur Rahman 101
What is Ziaur Rahman’s biggest contribution to Bangladesh? Ziaur Rahman gave our nation a clear identity. After independence, our national identity was declared as ‘Bangali’ and expectedly this created a lot of confusion. This identity ignored the non-Bangali citizens including the indigenous people of different part of Bangladesh as well as the Urdu speaking citizens.…
What is Bangladeshi Nationalism?
A great debate is going on in Unheard Voices about Bengali and Bangladeshi nationalism. Two high court judges led by Justice Khairul Haque ruled to strike down Bangladeshi nationalism from our constitution. The appellate division changed that ruling in a manner, that, rather than clarifying the issue, made the issue more contentious. In continuation of…
Ziaur Rahman: The man who gave us our identity
When President Ziaur Rahman was killed, he was only 45. But within this short life span he contributed enormously to Bangladesh. His catalytic role in initiating the mass revolt among Bengali members of the armed-forces after the brutal military crackdown of 25th March 1971, and his contribution as a military leader of Bangladesh’s war of…
Zia at war
Jyoti Rahman Couple of years ago, I noted how the typical discourse on Ziaur Rahman is full of lies. An (Awami League supporting) old friend asked me to write a positive account of Zia’s politics: instead of rebutting X, write about Y, he told me-. This (painfully slowly progressing) series is an attempt at that.…
President Ziaur Rahman (1936-1981): In Memoriam
I hear… of your recent saying that both the Army and the Government needed a Dictator. Only those generals who gain success can set up military dictatorships. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship.” – Abraham Lincoln, message to General Joseph Hooker, Army of the Potomac May…
Remembering Major Zia
“The greater number is generally composed of men of sluggish tempers, slow to act . . . they are unwilling to take early and vigorous measures for their defense, and they are almost always caught unprepared. . . .A smaller number, more expedite, awakened, active, vigorous and courageous, make amends for what they want in…
About the verdict on Colonel Taher trial
While giving the verdict on the legality of the punishment of Colonel Taher, the high-court bench of Justices Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik and Zakir Hossain declared that the whole trial process was illegal and it was in fact a cold blooded murder of Taher by Late president Ziaur Rahman. What high-court did to come to this…
Can AL finish what BNP started?
If one asks BNP activists to say a few things about Ziaur Rahman, it will be difficult to find many who know more than two words, “Swadhinotar Ghoshok”. Since Zia’s death, his own political platform has been in power longer than any other political party. Yet there has been a miserable failure in projecting the…
Ziaur Rahman: the kind of statesman we need now
Today is the 30th death anniversary of President Ziaur Rahman. This anniversary comes at a time when Zia, his image, contribution and his philosophy are under the fiercest attack ever. After decades of relentless attack on Zia, the war hero and Zia the statesman, after abysmal failure of Zia’s party to portray him appropriately and…
Zia That I Knew: A Flashback
May 27, 2009 at 12:30 AM By Abu Obaid Chowdhury from New York, USA Following my defection from Pakistan Army in 1971 and after being cleared by the Indian and Mujibnagar authorities, I was posted to ‘Z Force’ of Lt Col Ziaur Rahman in the eastern theater of Bangladesh liberation war. The nearly 20-day journey…
Zia Archive 