Bangladesh was simmering ever since the country’s high court had in June reinstated a 30 per cent reservation in government jobs for the descendants of freedom fighters who fought in the 1971 liberation war, that was subsequently cut down by the Bangladesh Supreme Court to five per cent on July 21. (This quota, first introduced by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972, was cancelled by Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2018 after widespread protests.) The underlying idea underscores a schism between those who fought for separation from Pakistan and those who collaborated to continue as East Pakistan.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s sudden escape to India by helicopter on August 5 took all, especially India, by surprise. She had ruled for the last 15 years, as head of the Awami League party, founded by her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the nation’s first Prime Minister. His assassination in 1975, followed by political uncertainty, led to two military rulers.
First, Lt. Gen. Zia-ur Rahman became President in 1977.
Though not named in the conspiracy to assassinate Sheikh Mujib, by mid-level military officers, suspicion always lingered, especially after he rehabilitated them and posted them abroad as diplomats. These deep fissures persisted in Bangladesh as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Begum Khaleda Zia after her husband’s assassination in 1981, aligned with Jamaat-e-Islami, which stood tainted by collaborating with Pakistan prior to 971. President Zia-.