Remembering the tragedy of November 7, 1975
On November 7, 1975, a turbulent and dark chapter opened up in the history of Bangladesh. On this day, Major General Khaled Mosharraf Bir Uttom, Colonel Khondkar Nazmul Huda Bir Bikrom, Lieutenant Colonel Abu Taher Mohammad Haider Bir Uttom and many of the freedom fighters' family members were brutally killed.
General Khaled Mosharraf gained eminence for his guerrilla performance during the warfare against the Pakistani Army in 1971. Leader of the Crack Platoon, which was built at his own initiative, he carried out operations in Dhaka during the Liberation War. In the documentary Khaled's War, produced by Granada television in the UK, General Khaled was seen as calm and self-confident while giving interviews to the journalists. He stated that this war was a resistance against injustice.
After December 16, 1971, Bangabandhu returned to an independent Bangladesh and upon his arrival, he became engaged in re-building the country. However, within a few years, on August 15, 1975, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated, along with his family, and the power of the government was seized by Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad. Although the traitor Mostaq became President, the assassins of Bangabandhu, the Faruque, Rashid, Dalim Noor clique, were assigned with the responsibility of running the country.
Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf was a meticulous officer of high ethical values. It was impossible for him to accept those who had seized the power of the government by killing Bangabandhu, much less pledge allegiance to them. At the time, Colonel Shafaat Jamil spoke with the then Chief of Army Staff, Ziaur Rahman. However, he found that Zia expressed reluctance to take any action in this regard. Ziaur Rahman was a direct beneficiary of the situation and he was made Chief of Army following the assassination of Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975.
The first effective step towards overthrowing the assassins of Bangabandhu was taken on the night of November 2, 1975, led by Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf and Colonel Shafaat Jamil. The Freedom Fighter officers, from both the Army and the Air Force, collaborated during the operation. On the morning of November 3, several fighter jets and helicopters kept flying in an attacking manner over Bangabhaban, Suhrawardy Udyan and Dhaka Cantonment, and Ziaur Rahman was taken into house arrest immediately. In the wake of Zia's resignation, Khaled Mosharraf took over the position of the Chief of Army.
After the successful coup led by Khaled Mosharraf, the chain of command was established in the army and at the same time, Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem was requested to assume the office of the President of the country. It is noteworthy here that Khaled Mosharraf did not show any interest to be in power. Although Khaled's associates repeatedly requested him to give speeches on radio and television, he never agreed to such requests and stayed determined that only the person in charge as the new president will give speeches.
Meanwhile, Colonel Taher, a retired army officer, and his organisation, the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), became active. They had been marching around Dhaka city with their allied troops and chanting slogans aimed at confusing the people. Colonel Taher's brother and his close associate Anwar Hossain, stated in a BBC interview that numerous meetings had taken place during the nights of November 3 to November 6, 1975. He told the soldiers that they would come out with weapons in hand, and their students and workers waiting outside would become armed. This is how Colonel Taher planned the uprising of the soldiers and the people. On November 3, while under house arrest, Ziaur Rahman communicated with Colonel Taher over the phone. As per Zia's request, the team of his revolutionary army, who were aligned with the JSD, came forward to protect him.
On November 6, Khaled Mosharraf visited the Number 10 Regiment and advised the soldiers to stay patient. Afterwards, he held a meeting at the army headquarters and instructed the soldiers to deposit all of their weapons at the same meeting. But it became quite apparent that under the command of Colonel Taher, Gonobahini, the armed wing of JSD, were in the process of planning to do something inside the cantonment, when they started distributing leaflets.
During the evening of November 6, at the house of Siddique Gulshan, the blueprint of the revolutionary uprising to be held by a group in the Bangladesh Army was finalised. The Cantonment was instigated against Khaled Mosharraf. Provocative leaflets were distributed in the Cantonment area, where Khaled Mosharraf was branded as under the influence of India. In the midst of such chaos, it became apparent to everyone that a sinister force was operating.
On the night of November 7, the counter-anarchy began, and all the Sepoys were giving slogans such as, "all the Sepoys are brothers, desiring the blood of officers". Besides provoking the soldiers, they started to murder the innocent family members of loyal army officers in the name of revolution. Although Khaled Mosharraf's coup was successful, the Bengal Lancer and two Field Artillery that supported the Faruque, Rashid and Mostaq clique were not disarmed yet. Consequently, they were seen patrolling the highways of Dhaka, and these units were used for a counter-coup against Khaled Mosharraf. On the same day, Zia was freed by these forces.
On November 7, at Bangabhaban, General Khaled Mosharraf was informed about the sepoy revolt called by the JSD, but they did not have any scope of taking action against them. After hearing the news, Khaled Mosharraf contacted Colonel Nawazish Ahmed, Commander of the 10th East Bengal Regiment, and thereby, Colonel Nawazish asked them to come to his unit. However, there was chaos in the unit too, and a group of unruly soldiers, led by Major Jalil and Major Assad, point-blank shot General Khaled, Colonel Huda and Lieutenant Colonel Haider.
Till date, we have failed to bring the perpetrators of November 7 under justice. We are still allowing them to celebrate the uprising, or the National Revolution and Solidarity Day as it has been termed. It is time for Bangladeshis to free the country from such distortions, especially when we are celebrating 50 years of independence. The people of Bangladesh have the right to know the true history of November 7, and remember the Freedom Fighters who lost their lives on this dark night.
Mahjabeen Khaled is a Member of Parliament and the daughter of Major General Khaled Mosharraf Bir Uttom.
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