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Abu Taher

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For other uses, seeAbu Taher (disambiguation).

Lieutenant Colonel
Abu Taher
BU
আবু তাহের
Born(1938-11-14)14 November 1938
Badarpur,Assam,British India
Died21 July 1976(1976-07-21)(aged 37)
Dhaka Central Jail,Dhaka,Bangladesh
Cause of deathExecutionbyhanging
Alma materMurari Chand College
Political partyJatiyo Samajtantrik Dal
SpouseLutfa Taher[1]
Children3
RelativesM. Anwar Hossain[2](brother)
Military career
AllegianceBangladesh
Pakistan(before 1971)
Service/branchPakistan Army
Bangladesh Army sealBangladesh Army
Years of service1962-1972
RankLieutenant colonel
UnitSpecial Service Group
East Bengal Regiment
Commands held
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965
Bangladesh Liberation War
Second Siege of Dhaka
AwardsBir Uttom[3][4][5]
Maroon Parachute Wing

Abu Taher(Bengali:আবু তাহের) (14 November 1938 – 21 July 1976) was aBengalimilitary serviceman,who served in thePakistan Army,and later inBDF.He crossed into India around early August and reported to the Indian authorities. After a week screening atDehradun, India,Taher reported toKolkata,Bangladesh Provincial governmentat 8 Theatre Rd. He was ordered to report to Sector 11 ofMukti Bahiniunder command of MajorZiaur Rahman,he became the sector commander after him. He served inBDFfrom end of August to 2 November 1971. He was awarded the medalBir Uttomfor his gallantry in the liberation war. He was released from military service by Indian military medical board inPune,India after his leg was amputated. After independence, he was inducted into the Bangladesh Army for administrative retirement with legacy rank oflieutenant colonel.After settling in with family, the government ofBangladeshappointed him with employment at Kumilla. Later Taher turned into a political activist and leader of the left-wingJatiyo Samajtantrik Dal.[4]

He was responsible for the7 November coupwhich was 3rd Coup of 1975 of Bangladesh.[6][7]After freeingZiaur Rahmanand reinstating him asarmy chief,[6]many personnel including Taher was found guilty ofhigh treasonandmurderand executed.[8]However, in 2011, his trial was declared illegal by the high court of Bangladesh.[9][10]

Early life and education[edit]

Abu Taher was born inBadarpur,Assam Province ofBritish Indiaon 14 November 1938.[11]His ancestral village was Kazla inPurbadhala,Netrokona DistrictofBangladesh.After the completion of higher secondary school fromMurari Chand CollegeinSylhet,Taher joined thePakistan Armyin September 1960 as an officer candidate.[5]He was married toLutfa Taher.[12]

Military career[edit]

Taher received his Commission in 1962 as a second lieutenant in the Pakistan Army. He joined the elite PakistanSpecial Services Group(Commando Force) in 1965.[11]Following his training, he participated in theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965in the Sialkot sector ofKashmir.For his part, he received a war participation medal from the Pakistan Army. After the war, Taher took officers pre-qualification course onguerrilla warfareatFort Benningin the United States in 1969. He was posted to theQuettaStaff College,Pakistanin 1970.[5]

Bangladesh War of Independence[edit]

Towards the end of August 1971,CaptainTaher, along with three other Bengali officers: MajorManzur,MajorZiauddinand Captain Bazlul Ghani Patwari defected from the Pakistani Army and crossed over the border nearAbbottabad,West Pakistan,into India.[5]After two weeks under Indian intelligence screening and debriefing, he was sent toBangladesh Armed Forces(BDF) HQ at 8 Theatre Road, Calcutta and subsequently posted to Sector 11. He was promoted to Major in September. Major Zia appointed Taher as Sub-Sector Commander No. 2 at Mahendraganj.[13]Sector 11 was located across theRangpur District,which comprisedMymensingh District,Tangail Districtand parts of theRangpur District.On October 10, upon Major Zia's temporary transfer to the Sylhet sector, Major Shafayat Jamil handed over the interim command of the sector to BDF. Sector 11. On 2 November 1971, Taher lost his leg from a small mine blast during a debriefing.[14]Squadron LeaderM. Hamidullah Khanwas officially appointed Sector Commander of Sector 11 under direct orders throughEAMfrom General Osmani, Bangladesh Interim Provincial Government Headquarters. Taher was flown toPune,India. On 21 November Taher received a Medical Board Release. His leg was later amputated there, where he remained until February 1972. For his valour, he was awardedBir Uttom.

Post-war activities[edit]

Following his return, Taher was reinstated into theBangladesh Armyin April for effective retirement following administrative procedure. He was retired with a legacy entitlement rank of Lieutenant Colonel and hence is widely known as Colonel Taher.[5]

Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal[edit]

Due to his left-leaning communist ideas of governance he joined theJatiyo Samajtantrik Dal.[15]

TheJatiyo Samajtantrik Dalhad split from theBangladesh Chhatra League,the student wing of theBangladesh Awami Leagueand called for establishingsocialismthrough an armed revolution. Taher became the head of its armed wing, theGonobahiniand led a violent insurgency campaign against the government ofSheikh Mujibur Rahman.[16]

15 August 1975 Coup[edit]

Abu Taher welcomed theassassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahmanon 15 August 1975, remarking,

They've made a big mistake. They shouldn't have allowed Sheikh Mujib's burial. Now a shrine will be built there. His body should have been thrown into theBay of Bengal.[8][17]

It was known thatJatiyo Samajtantrik Dalhad plans for an insurrection against Sheikh Mujib's government.[18]After the 15 August coup, JSD encouraged its followers to study Marx'sThe Class Struggles in France.[18]On the morning of the coup, Taher received several phone calls, urging him to go toBangladesh Betar,the government radio station. Upon reaching the radio station, he metMajor Rashid,one of the key organisers of Sheikh Mujib's assassination. Rashid took Taher to a room, where he sawMajor Dalim,Taheruddin ThakurandKhondaker Mostaq Ahmad.Taher was invited to join the cabinet by Rashid, which he declined. Taher was present at Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad's swearing-in ceremony.[17]

3 November 1975 Coup[edit]

After the 15 August coup, the chain of command in the Bangladesh Army was disrupted, as the majors involved in Sheikh Mujib's assassination 'began acting like generals'.[18]GeneralKhaled Mosharrafurged GeneralZiaur Rahmanto restore the chain of command, which he was either unwilling or unable to do. As a result, Khaled Mosharraf launched the3 November coup,ousting Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and placing Zia under house arrest. Right before Zia was arrested, he reportedly made a phone call to Taher, urging him to save him.[18]Every night between 4 and 6 November, secret meetings of enlisted men and non-commissioned officers were held under Taher's leadership. These troops belonged to Biplobi Shainik Sangstha (Revolutionary Soldier's Organisation), which was a 'socialist and egalitarian' group which clandestinely existed within the Bangladesh Army.[19][18]At these meetings, they finalised plans to organise an uprising of soldiers and civilians and free Zia from imprisonment.

7 November 1975 Coup[edit]

Thecoupwas launched during the early hours of 7 November in Dhaka Cantonment and soon spread to other areas, including Rangpur and Chittagong.[18]Crowds poured into the streets of Dhaka to support the soldiers and shouted slogans, such as 'The people and soldiers have united'. Ziaur Rahman was freed from house arrest by soldiers and taken to the headquarters of the 2nd Field Artillery regiment, where he met Taher. Witnesses claim that Zia embraced Taher and thanked him for saving his life.[18]

Trial and execution[edit]

Once Ziaur Rahman regained control of the army, he realized that the soldiers' mutiny had to be suppressed if discipline was to be restored.[8]On 24 November 1975, he ordered Taher arrested on charges ofhigh treasonandmurder.[20]Taher was tried by a military tribunal inside theDhaka Central Jailand sentenced to death on 17 July 1976. He was executed by hanging on 21 July 1976.[21]Hislast mealconsisted of mangoes and tea.[18]The trial was later considered as illegal, unconstitutional and a farce. HC declared it as a cold blooded assassination.[21][22][23]

High Court ruling[edit]

On 22 March 2011, the High Court overturned the previous judgement that authorised Taher's execution by a military tribunal while the nation was under martial law. The military court judgement was declared illegal.[10]The court observed Taher's execution had happened according toMajor General Zia's plan.[9]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^আজ আমি আনন্দিত, আমি গর্বিত: লুৎফা তাহের.banglanews24(in Bengali).Retrieved4 January2022.
  2. ^"Colonel Taher's unfinished revolution".31 January 2022.
  3. ^Bangladesh Gazette of 15 December, 1973; Ministry of Liberation War Affairs
  4. ^abHabib, Haroon."Two epoch-making verdicts".The Hindu.Retrieved19 June2015.
  5. ^abcdeHossain, Md Anwar (2012)."Taher, Lieutenant Colonel Abu".InIslam, Sirajul;Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.).Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh(Second ed.).Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  6. ^ab"Zia revived Razakars: Inu".bdnews24.Retrieved19 June2015.
  7. ^Newton, Michael (17 April 2014).Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia.United States of America: ABC-CLIO, LLC. p. 455.ISBN9781610692861.
  8. ^abcAhsan, Syed Badrul(7 July 2015)."Bourgeois dreams of socialist revolution".The Daily Observer.Archived fromthe originalon 18 August 2016.Retrieved16 July2016.
  9. ^abNiloy, Suliman."'Zia staged trial to kill Col Taher'".bdnews24.Retrieved19 June2015.
  10. ^ab"HC declares Taher trial illegal"Archived30 September 2011 at theWayback Machinebdnews24
  11. ^ab"Two Giants".The Daily Star.14 November 2013.Retrieved19 June2015.
  12. ^"Nerakona: Lutfa Taher MP, spouse of sector commander late Col Abu Taher and JSD (Inu) central leader Mukllesur Rahman Muktadir addressing the biennial conference of JSD (Inu), Netrakona district unit at local public hall yesterday".The New Nation.Retrieved21 November2017.
  13. ^"Taher execution an outright murder: HC".The Daily Star.20 May 2013.Retrieved20 June2015.
  14. ^"Kamalpur, Phulbari tasted freedom on this day in '71".The Daily Star.8 March 2015.Retrieved19 June2015.
  15. ^"History of Jatiya Samajtantric Dal".Dhaka Informatix. Archived fromthe originalon 26 July 2011.Retrieved2 December2009.
  16. ^Hossain, Kazi Mobarak (13 March 2016)."Hasanul Haq Inu's JaSoD splits as he names Shirin general secretary".bdnews24.Retrieved11 July2016.
  17. ^ab"Who Said What After August 1 5".The Daily Star.17 August 2014.Retrieved16 July2016.
  18. ^abcdefghLifschultz, Lawrence (1979).Bangladesh: the unfinished revolution.Zed Press.ISBN0-905762-07-X.OCLC471667979.
  19. ^Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986).Bangladesh: a legacy of blood.Hodder and Stoughton.ISBN0-340-39420-X.OCLC242251870.
  20. ^Hossain, Kazi Mobarak (13 March 2016)."Hasanul Haq Inu's JaSoD splits as he names Shirin general secretary".bdnews24.Retrieved11 July2016.
  21. ^abManik, Julfikar Ali (25 August 2010)."5th amendment verdict paves way for justice".The Daily Star.Retrieved19 June2015.
  22. ^Katsiaficas, George (2013).Asia's unknown uprisings.Oakland, Calif.: PM. p. 270.ISBN978-1-60486-488-5.
  23. ^"Taher's execution a cold-blooded assassination: HC".Dhaka Tribune.20 May 2013.Retrieved8 June2023.

External links[edit]

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