One morning thirty years ago

"The struggle this time is the struggle for emancipation, the struggle this time is the struggle for independence."

Three decades ago today the newly independent Bangladesh faced the greatest tragedy of her short existence.

Through a disastrous blow, an attempt was made to snuff out the independent existence of a state full of promise. Indeed we may recall that the name of the state was attempted to be changed from the People's Republic of Bangladesh to the Islamic Republic of Bangladesh. The Islamisation process unleashed on that day continues even today.

On August 15, 1975, an elaborate death trap that was laid where Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the state, along with members of his family -- a total of 35 members -- perished.

The events of August 1975 were completed on November 3, when the killers of Bangabandhu, before escaping from Bangladesh, murdered in Dhaka jail, four top leaders of the Awami League, men who had provided superb leadership during the Liberation War throughout 1971. The neat plan of the massacre was to wipe out the leadership of Bangladesh and also destroy the leadership of the Awami League which had led the Bangalees to victory.

The plot to paralyse Bangladesh by the massacre of the towering leadership of Bangabandhu, has been eminently successful. Bangladesh has not taken a single step forward. On the other hand, the state has regressed in almost every field.

Bangabandhu was eventually succeeded by the head of the armed forces Gen. Ziaur Rahman, who was one of the sector commanders of the Liberation War of 1971. Shortly after taking over power, he brought about sweeping changes in the constitution. Thus secularism, one of the main pillars of the constitution, achieved after a quarter century struggle with Pakistan, was erased from the book. Socialism had to go -- and the only two pillars that survived were democracy and nationalism.

During the War of Liberation, under the magnificient leadership of Bangabandhu, Bangalees had united as never before in history. Only a handful of collaborators, the Razakars, had joined hands with the Pakistani forces. Their leader Gholam Azam had sought refuge in Pakistan.

Through amnesty of one and all not only were the traitors allowed to return to Bangladesh, but they were allowed to participate in the political life of the country Thus Gen Ziaur Rahman, the Liberation War hero, became an ally of the so called religious forces, forces which had been rejected by the people in the general elections of 1970 and ever since.

Gen. Zia's six years in power were marred by frequent coup attempts and finally he was murdered by some disgruntled officers of the army. Some of them have been hanged, but it has never been clearly established who were the real killers.

Gen. Zia was succeeded by Gen. HM Ershad. Thus a military regime seemed to perpetuate in Bangladesh. A veneer of democracy was maintained as Gen. Ershad held sham elections.

In the political field appeared two ladies -- Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and President of the Awami League, and Begum Khaleda Zia, the widow of Gen. Ziaur Rahman and President of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Gen. Ershad continued his reign for nine long years by playing one lady against the other. In the late eighties the two ladies finally joined hands and a mass uprising toppled the dictatorship of Gen. Ershad. Like his predecessor Gen. Zia, he too went on Islamising the constitution. Thus he injected Islam as the state religion, destroying totally the secular polity of Bangladesh.

Since the events of August 15, 1975, the constitution of Bangladesh has been so severely mauled by the two military regimes that it looks extremely difficult to repair the damage. Yet for Bangladesh to regain her lost image and specially for her to take back the seat of honour in the comity of nations, there is no alternative to return to the constitution of 1972. Let us recall that the Constitution of 1972 was the fruit of the War of Liberation, which the nation fought as one soul. It is also a document which allowed us to take our seat among the civilised nations of the world.

Over the last 30 years we have drifted very far. It is time to remember that without Bangabandhu Bangladesh was unthinkable. Let us rekindle in our hearts the clarion call of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: "The struggle this time is the struggle for emancipation, the struggle this time is the struggle for independence." No nation will be respected if it continues to deny its Father.

Arshad-uz-Zaman is a former Ambassador.