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 Valiant freedom
fighter Ziaur Rahman was brought to the centre stage of Bangladesh
national life after the political changeover of 1975 by the masses
as well as the soldiers in an unprecedented popular upsurge.
He spent no time
to restore multi-party democracy and press freedom denied by Awami
League by its introduction of a draconian but short lived one-party
rule in January 1975. In less than three years of power Awami League
safely forgot its pledge as well as mandate to rule the country
through parliamentary democracy and to suit its exigency swiftly
amended the Constitution of the Republic vesting all powers in the
Presidency.
Zia founded BNP
and allowed all the other parties including Awami League to restart
functioning.
Strangely enough,
the then Awami League leadership, to monopolise power, had banned
all but a new party they had introduced at the outset of 1975 in the
name of centralised socialist economy, prohibited criticism as well
as publication of all but four newspapers owned by the government.
Zia's tolerance of
criticism and the vision for a new Bangladesh added to the
popularity he had earned with his historic declaration of
independence from Pakistan soon after the Pakistan Army cracked down
on unarmed Bangladeshis on the midnight of March 25, 1971, as the
country was in a political turmoil, in the quest for long cherished
democracy, following the elections of the previous year. Zia as a
Major in the army became famous over night. The subsequent
Liberation War made him a hero of the people.
To the masses Zia
remains the visionary who put Bangladesh on the path of modernity
and development. It was he who infused self confidence in national
life. The people of Bangladesh got the self confidence that they
could do something on their own beginning from the village up to the
national level. The nation got a sense of direction.
'Village
government', the lowest tier of local government he had introduced
with opportunities for the local population to solve local problems
and develop life, still remains a popular concept across the
Bangladesh countryside though the system was discontinued after him.
He undertook the
construction of the Teesta Barrage, during his rather short tenure
of office, to tackle the problems of the river Teesta mobilising
local resources and depending on engineering talents within the
country to design it. It was the biggest project of Bangladesh until
the country undertook in early 1994 the construction of Jamuna
Bridge. It only demonstrates Zia's leadership characterised by
vision and determination.
Another example
of his farsightedness is demonstrated by his mooting the very idea
of regional cooperation in South Asia, SAARC, and taking the
initiative to launch it when few could even imagine of such
cooperation in a region thriving in mutual suspicion. Though he did
not live long enough to see the launching of the regional
cooperative forum his vision only disproved the numerous skeptics.
Born in the
district of Bogra, Bangladesh, in 1936, he joined the Pakistan Army
in 1953 and was commissioned in 1955.
During the
Indo-Pak war of 1965, Ziaur Rahman, as a Captain, was commander
of a company of the First East Bengal Regiment and fought gallantly
in the Khemkaran sector. He did his staff college in 1966 and the
same year was appointed instructor at the Pakistan Military Academy
at Kakul.
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Following the
Pakistan Army's crackdown on the unarmed people of Bangladesh on the
night of March 25,1971, he made history as a Major in the East
Bengal Regiment in Chittagong with his declaration of independence
from the make-shift Transmission Centre of Chittagong Radio at
Kalurghat ending the paul of gloom that had then descended upon the
besieged nation.
In June 1971,
during the Liberation War of Bangladesh he raised the first brigade
of the Bangladesh Army which was named after him 'Z' force.
After liberation
of Bangladesh, he commanded the same brigade at Comilla . In June
1972 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Army Staff. In August 1975
Major General Zia became the Chief of Army Staff.
His appointment as
Deputy Chief Martial law Administrator following the change of
government and popular upsurge of November 7, 1975 brought to him
to the centre stage of national life.
Lieutenant General
Ziaur Rahman was sworn in as the President of Bangladesh on 21 April
1977. He was elected the President of the Republic on 3 June 1978.
Zia infused
dynamism in the foreign policy of Bangladesh. He also discarded
cetralised system of socialism to introduce moderation and
liberalism in national life. This policy of Zia made Bangladesh an
active player in the international arena.
No wonder in a
short time, under Zia's leadership, Bangladesh was elected a
non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and to numerous
international forums including the Chairman of the Group of 77.
Zia took
initiative to promote international understanding by resolving
bilateral disputes through negotiations and peaceful means.
He took the
initiative to industrialise Bangladesh and develop its agricultural
system for a better tomorrow for an overpopulated country.
He organised and
led a countrywide movement for tree plantation and pisciculture
among many other such gainful economic programmes for the benefit of
the common people as well as the ecology.
President Zia had
keen interest in games and sports and took great initiatives to
develop such positive pursuits in national life.
He is survived by
his wife, Begum Khaleda Zia and their two sons and a host of grand
children.
He was
assassinated by a group of misguided army officers on May 30, 1981
in Chittagong.
But death could not diminish his popularity. People rallied
and gathered in unprecedented numbers to protest his death. Over two
million gathered in the capital city to bid farewell to their leader
and hero. Never before or since so many had gathered in the history
of Bangladesh to mourn their leader.
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 Shaheed
President Ziaur Rahman played a creative and constructive role in
the shaping and consolidation of Bangladesh's foreign policy. This
was acclaimed by many countries of the world, developed and
developing as well. For a developing country, which is weak in
respect of economic and military might, this is obviously a rare
honour. It was all the more praiseworthy because alongside his
positive role in expansion of external relations, Zia was recognised
as a democratic and peace-loving statesman, for he was concerned
about global welfare.
By lending his
strong support to the just demands of the least developed countries,
Bangladesh earned the confidence of the Third World countries during
Zia's time. By expressing solidarity with the inalienable rights
of the Middle Eastern Arabs and the Palestinians and the struggle
for freedom of the oppressed people of South Africa, Bangladesh was
acknowledged world-wide as a peace-loving nation opposed to
aggression and exploitation. President Ziaur Rahman boosted the
image of Bangladesh by successfully pursuing a non-aligned foreign
policy without getting involved with the power-play of the two super
powers and their respective camps in global politics. Its positive
impact could be observed from the successes of Bangladesh in
developing external relations. Some examples of this success are
given below.
Good relationships
existed with the neighbouring countries during Zia's rule. Agreement
was reached with India in 1977 for the sharing of Ganges water and
an outline for handover of Tinbigha corridor was agreed upon.
Consensus was reached on resolving the ownership of South Talpatty
island through joint survey and negotiation. Around two lakh
refugees who came to Bangladesh from Burma were speedily
repatriated. A treaty was signed with Burma on demarcation of common
border. The areas of cooperation and good neigbourly relations were
enhanced with Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan. Consent of Pakistan was
elicited for holding discussion on sharing of assets and
repatriation of stranded Pakistanis. In 1978, Bangladesh was elected
to the UN Security Council even while contesting against a powerful
rival like Japan. In 1977, Bangladesh became a member of Non-Aligned
Bureau, in 1979 she was elected to both the Ministerial and
Presidential Committees on Jerusalem. Bangladesh played an active
role in the OIC and twenty other international organisations. Above
all, the historic initiative of President Zia to organize the seven
countries of South Asia into a regional cooperation entity and
establish SAARC was an example of Bangladesh's creativity in
developing external relations. It was a rare achievement for a
newly independent country and an indication of the pragmatism of the
foreign policy that Bangladesh pursued at the time.
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The range of
bilateral and multilateral cooperation expanded very rapidly during
the time of Ziaur Rahman. By visiting Asian neighbours like India,
Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, China, Japan and North Korea, Middle Eastern Muslim
countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Syria,
Turkey, European countries like the UK, France, Belgium,
Netherlands, West Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia and Romania as well as
the United States of America, President Zia succeeded in
strengthening bilateral relations with them. The ingredients of this
success were the wise and dynamic leadership of President Zia, his
commitment and diligence, proper planning and smooth execution of
diplomatic activities in the foreign ministry, cooperation of other
ministries as well as the national parliamtent---especially the
valuable suggestions made by the committee on foreign affairs. In
this context, the constructive role of the opposition leaders for a
national consensus also deserves mention.
For achievement of
national objectives and for ensuring an effective role of the
external policies - serving as extensions of domestic policies,
comprehensive knowledge about the complex and ever-changing forces
of economy, society, politics and history at global and regional
levels and their proper blending is a must. In this respect,
President Zia set an unique example. Inspite of being burdened with
a huge work-load, his natural curiosity for knowledge was so great
that he studied all documents and papers related to foreign trips
with great care and attention. Quite often, he visited the foreign
ministry and held elaborate discussions on appropriate strategies
for formulation and execution of an effective, dynamic,
forward-looking and development-oriented foreign policy. During
these discussions, he impressed us with his political pragmatism, a
free and unbiased mind and an objective attitude. It served as a
valuable input in the flourishing of our external relations. These
conversations enhanced mutual confidence and understanding between
the Head of State and the Foreign Ministry. It created a climate of
trust and inspired everybody who were working for developing our
foreign relations.
Bangladesh had to
advance step by step from a vulnerable position in global politics.
The political farsightedness of President Zia, his patience,
diplomatic acumen and insight, and a readiness to negotiate and
compromise made significant contribution in this forward march.
Written by Prof
M.Shamsul Huq, who served as foreign minister during President Ziaur
Rahman's rule.
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