Abu Taher
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- For the Buyid ruler of Hamadan see Shams al-Daula.
Lieutenant Colonel Abu Taher (retired - BD Army)(Bengali: আবু তাহের) (1938-1976) a communist and a left-leaning radical activist of the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal, responsible for the Soldiers Uprising and the radical breakout that occurred in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh in Nov 7th 1975. He joined the Bangladesh Liberation struggle against West Pakistan wih the 11th Sector in the northern front. He was appointed sub-sector commander of Mahendraganj sub-sector by the 11th Sector Commander Major Ziaur Rahman. On October 10th 1971 Major Ziaur Rahman handed over the sector to Major Taher in which he seved for a brief period of 22 days Oct 10th - Nov 2nd 1971.
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[edit] Early life and Education
Taher was born in Badarpur, Assam Province in then British India on 14 November 1938. His family hailed from Kazla village in Purbadhala of then Bengal Province, today a town in the Netrokona District of Bangladesh. After completion of higher secondary school from Sylhet M C College in 1959, he studied at the Social Welfare and Research Institute of the University of Dhaka. He joined the Pakistan Army in 1960 as an officer candidate and received his Commission in 1962.[1]
[edit] Military career
In Pakistan Army, Abu Taher joined the elite Special Service Group of the Commando Force in 1965. Following his training, he participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 in the Kashmir sector and the Sialkot sector. For his part, he received a gallantry award from the Government of Pakistan. After the war, Taher took advanced training on Guerrilla Warfare at Fort Brag and Fort Benning in the United States in 1969. He was posted to the Quetta Staff College, Pakistan in 1970.[1]
[edit] Role in Bangladesh Liberation War
In July, 1971, Taher along with several other Bengali officers defected from the Pakistan Army and crossed over the border near Abbottabad, West Pakistan, into India.[1]. Later he was posted to Sector 11 in the Rangpur District, which comprised Mymensingh District, Tangail District and parts of the Rangpur District,. The battalion led by Taher was the first to was the first battalion to advance toward the Pakistani army’s Dhaka Headquarters [2]. On November 14, 1971, Taher was injured during a battle at Kamalpur.[1][3][4] For his valour, he was awarded Bir Uttam, the second highest gallantry award in Bangladesh.[1][3]
[edit] Post-liberation activities
Following his return, Taher was appointed the Adjutant General of Bangladesh Army. He received a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and in June 1972, he was appointed Commanding Officer 44th Infantry Battalion East Bengal Regiment at the Comilla Cantonment.[1] However, due to his left-leaning communist ideas of organising and reforming the Bangladesh Army in the model of the Chinese army he resigned from Bangladesh Army and joined Jatiya Samajtantric Dal (National Socialist Party)[citation needed]. After three weeks of uncertainty and confusion resulting from the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975, a rebellion followed on Nov 3rd 1975 among senior officers in the army, which Taher quickly took advantage of and created a sense of dissent among ranking Non-Commissioned Officers and regular soldiers[citation needed]. Abu Taher organised a socialist uprising of the soldiers on 7 November 1975. A number of military officers were attacked and killed by these soldiers. These soldiers freed Major General Ziaur Rahman, then Deputy Chief of Army, who was under house arrest. General Zia immediately rose to the challenge, took over the post of army chief and restored calm and order[citation needed]. He went to the National Broadcasting Station and assured the nation of peace and the rule of law. Zia proclaimed himself deputy Martial Law Administrator with Chief Justice Sayem being Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) on 7 November 1975.
As Abu Taher's ideas of a social revolution with a central communist army more jubilant, he threatened Zia more unrest with the disgruntled soldiers unless Zia bent to his proposals[citation needed]. Further refusing to accept Zia's offer of an Ambassadorship, Zia placed Taher under charges of treason and Taher was arrested on 24 November 1975. He was tried by a military tribunal inside the Dhaka Central Jail and was sentenced to death. He was executed by hanging on 21 July 1976.
[edit] Sources
Ministry of Defense Gazette Notification No.8/25/D-1/72-1378, Dated 15 December 1973. Sector Documents/1971/No.11 Sector/Liberation War, Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh Army, Personnel Services Directorate - Records Office.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Biography, from Banglapedia.
- ^ Codron, Jérémie (October 2007). "Putting Factions 'Back in' the Civil-Military Relations Equation: Genesis, Maturation and Distortion of the Bangladeshi Army". Putting Factions 'Back in' the Civil-Military Relations Equation: Genesis, Maturation and Distortion of the Bangladeshi Army: Par. 20. “And Taher was personally difficult to ignore: the 'Taher bahini' was the first battalion to make its way toward the Pakistani army’s Dhaka Headquarters.”
- ^ a b Ahmed, Emajuddin (1988). Military Rule and the Myth of Democracy. Bangladesh: University Press, 84.
- ^ (1984) বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধের দলিলপত্র (Liberation war documents, ed. Hasan Hafizur Rahman). Bangladesh: Hakkani Publishers, 640-657.
