Militarism in Bangladesh
Public procession against the 1st Paki military dictator General Ayub Khan (Dhaka 1968)
| "The hidden hand of the market" wrote Thomas Friedman, the guardian of American foreign policy in the New York Times, "will never work without a hidden fist. McDonald's cannot flourish without McDonnell Douglas, the designer of the F-15. And the hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon Valley's technologies is called the US Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps" "We have 50 per cent of the world's wealth but only 6.3 per cent of its population. In this situation, our real job in the coming period...is to maintain this position of disparity. To do so, we have to dispense with all sentimentality.....we should cease thinking about human rights, the raising of living standards and democratization. George Kennan, US Strategic Planner, 1948 John Pilger: The New Rulers of the World |
List of the richest military officers of Bangladesh
| Name | Details of assets owned |
| General Ershad | |
| General Amjad | |
| General Wahid | |
| General Mahmudul Hasan | Former head of DGFI |
| General Atik | |
| General Mahbbat Jan Chowdhury | |
| Brig Anis Waiz | |
| Colonel Tafsir | |
| Maj Gen Rezakul Haider | Sacked NSI chief |
| Shame: Salman Rushdie "....about the issue of Time magazine (or was in Newsweek?) which never got into the country because it carried an article about President Ayub Khan's alleged Swiss bank account; or about the bandits on the trunk roads who are condemned for doing, as private enterprise, what the government does as public policy; or about genocide in Baluchistan (Chittagong Hill Tracts); or about the recent preferential awards of State Scholarships, to pay for postgraduate studies abroad, to members of the fanatical Jamaat party; or about the extra hangings-the first for twenty years- that were ordered purely to legitimize the execution of Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto; or about why Bhutto's (General Manjur killed under Ershad's instruction without any trial) hangman has vanished into thin air, just like many street-urchins who are being stolen every day in broad daylight; or abut anti-Semitism, an interesting phenomenon, under whose influence people who have never met a Jew vilify all Jews for the sake of maintaining solidarity with the Arab states which offer Pakistan (Bangladeshi) workers, these days, employment and much-needed foreign exchange; or about smuggling, the boom in heroin exports, military dictators, venal civilians, corrupt civil servants, bought judges, newspapers of whose stories the only thing can confidently be said is that they are lies; or about the apportioning of the national budged, with special reference to the percentage set aside for defense (huge) and for education (not huge). |
It is a shame that Bangladesh, which emerged as an independent country through long political struggle against Pakistani military dictatorship since 1948, should undergo military autocracy again within four years of its birth. It is beyond the scope of this page to discuss, in depth, all the factors that account for the revival of militarism in Bangladesh in 1975. Fourteen years of military dictatorship (Zia & Ershad) has ruined almost everything Bangladesh had won through its political struggle for years against Pakistani colonialism. The impact of militarism in Bangladesh:
| It ruined socio political institutions | Created opportunities for the bureaucrats and the mafia to exhaust national resources |
| It destroyed the democratic system of governance | Caused dichotomy in national identity |
| It degraded the educational and research institutions | Revived Islamic medievalism |
| It rehabilitated the anti liberation forces in Bangladeshi society and politics | Nipped in the bud the growth of local industries by opening the market to foreign capital |
| It strengthened the Islamic fundamentalists in Bangladeshi politics | Incurred billions of dollars of foreign loans |
| Introduced terrorism to silence public opinion | Spread corruption to grass root level |
Top army officers intervening politics
 Colonel Taher: A honest patriotic officer whose political naivety cost Bangladeshis a lot |
 Brig Khaled Musharraf: victim of personal ambition |
 Major Hyder |
 General Ziaur Rahman : 1st military dictator in independent Bangladesh |
 General HM Ershad : 2nd military dictator in independent Bangladesh |
Myths of Militarism
| Myth | Reality |
| Army is crucial for political sovereignty | Not in 21st century. example: Switzerland and Luxemburg. Switzerland is a wealthy country with billions of dollars in each Swiss bank. Swiss cops are enough to protect the money or the independence of the country with people of multi-national origin (Germans, Belgians, Russian) not only two communities (Hindus and Muslims). |
| Army will defend Bangladesh against Indian expansionism. | India is only interested in Bangladeshi market, not liability due to political occupation. |
| Bangladesh army should be expanded to defend the Muslims against the Hindu big brothers. | With the present strength exhausting 60% of national budget, the army is able to stand Indian attack only for 8 hours, barely enough for the generals to fly to US. (source: a popular joke, accurate figures though, among the junior officers of Bangladesh army which is sarcastic about the generals' tendencies to acquire wealth to buy properties in USA) |
| Army is the symbol of political independence | Not army but the people that define as well as defend a nation. Army is to serve the people under constitutional oath, not to rule them.. For the violation of the constitution both Zia and Ershad can be tried and punished. |
| Army is the most disciplined and organized institution | Not enough for the money spent for them. They don't pay taxes, enjoy free housing and medicine. |
Ever since the murder of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the military has been, directly or indirectly, controlling political power. The killers of Sheikh Mujib did not capture political power, they rather worked as tools for the more influential senior officers (playing behind the curtains) in the Army. Generals of Bangladesh army inherited this legacy of military coups from its parent organization, the Pakistani army. Due to some intrinsic propensities, both the armies are rather keen to rule, instead of being ruled by, their taxpayers. In wars with the enemies they are always losers: Pakistan army was defeated by both the Indians (1965) and the Bangalees (1971); and Bangladesh army had never fought any war in its history. There is any scarce possibility that they would have to in future. But still the army consumes 60% of the national budget.
Peoples' procession against the last (?) military dictator: Gen Ershad ( Dhaka 1990)
In reality the army is the most organized institution in Bangladesh and as such they can exert their power over the illiterate and unorganized people. The military dictators of Bangladesh, namely Zia and Ershad ruined almost all the civil institutions in last 15 years. The people of Bangladesh is a bit fortunate than the Pakistanis as there is no feudal class in Bangladesh. In absence of the feudal class the army is allied with the corrupt civil bureaucrats and businessmen. This oligarchy (the army, civil bureaucrats and businessmen) has been ruling Bangladesh, officially or unofficially, for last 25 years. The profiles of general Zia and general Ershad offer insights into the process of militarism in Bangladesh.
| ISI, DGFI and collaborating officers of Bangladesh Army 1. Colonel KM Rahman: Director of the Pakistani Martial Court-1 in Dhaka during the liberation war of 1971. After liberation Col Rahman was appointed the director of the Supply for the Army recommended by General Osmani. 2. Colonel Feroz Salauddin: Second-in-Charge of the Razakar forces during the liberation war. 3. Captain Hakim: Served as an officer of the 31 Field Regiment of the Pakistani occupation army during the liberation war and was responsible for killing hundreds of freedom fighters and Bangalee civilians in Teliapara, Mantala and Akhaura areas. After independence he was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Military Police (MP) 4. Commodore Aminul Islam: Director of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of the Eastern Wing during the liberation war. Towards the end of October, being aware of the victory of the Bangalees, he fled to India. Indian authority arrested and imprisoned him. After independence he was handed over to the government of Bangladesh. Bangladesh government, hard to believe, appointed him as the chief of the Bangadesh Military Intelligence |
Military dictators of Bangladesh:
1. General Ziaur Rahman: The sole beneficiary of the assassination of Mujib and the key person behind the Pakistanisation of Bangladesh.
2. General Ershad: the successor of General Zia.
3. DGFI: The most powerful cell that controls government and politics in Bangladesh.
Reference:
Killers and Collaborators of 1971: An Account of Their Whereabouts, compiled and published by the Center for the Development of the Spirit of the Liberation War Commission on War Criminals of Bangladesh
Saiduzzaman Raushan: Speeches and Statements of Killers & Collaborators of 1971
Muyeedul Hasan: Muldhara: '71
Major Rafiqul Islam: Tales of a Million
Muntassir Mamoon: Democracy in Bangladesh: Elements of Consensus and Process.
Muntassir Mamoon: Je deshe Razakar Bara
Dr Mazharul Islam: Mujiber Atmajibani
Killers and Collaborators of 1971: An Account of Their Whereabouts, compiled and published by the Center for the Development of the Spirit of the Liberation War Commission on War Criminals of Bangladesh
Saiduzzaman Raushan: Speeches and Statements of Killers & Collaborators of 1971
Muyeedul Hasan: Muldhara: '71
Major Rafiqul Islam: Tales of a Million
Muntassir Mamoon: Democracy in Bangladesh: Elements of Consensus and Process.
Muntassir Mamoon: Je deshe Razakar Bara
Dr Mazharul Islam: Mujiber Atmajibani
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