When Sheikh Mujibur Rehman returned from captivity in Pakistan in 1972 he was awarded a hero's welcome. Three million people turned out to line the streets of Dacca, and Mujib was to tell journalists: "I love my people and my people love me.' But when he was shot dead by young army majors a fortnight ago there was no sign in Bangladesh that his people still loved him. The death of Mujib was accepted. The reasons for this are not difficult to grasp.
The task which confronted Mujib and the Awami League after independence was not an easy one: in a country of 80 million - the highest population density in the world -and under-developed into the bargain (90 per cent of the population live in the countryside) they set about attempting to construct a capitalist state. But despite Indian help and Soviet aid, the Awami League failed to tackle the social crisis.
4. Mujib's son, Sheikh Kamal, was involved in smuggling and looting. In 1973 he was shot at by police while looting because the police were unaware of his identity. The police officers in charge of the operation lost their jobs. He used to count bribe-money by weighing it on his special scales. He too is reported dead.
5. Kamal's younger brother Jamal was recently trained at Sandhurst, but was better known for being involved in a smuggling racket with a group of Hong Kong businessmen. He was also killed. Serious Crisis The young army officers who killed Mujib are now confronting a serious crisis. They carefully avoided a bloodbath of the Awami League leadership as such, though why they appointed a well-known CIA politician, Mushtaq Ahmed, as President is unclear. In any case it is unlikely that Mushtaq will remain in power for long.
In previous articles on Bangladesh we have pointed out that the distinguishing feature of Bangladesh was the weakness of the State as such. This gave Mujibur Rehman a special place. Without him the bureaucracy and the army will find themselves weakened, as will the Awami League. liberal-minded officer.
force behind the recent coup. was used to repress all opposition.
The Bangladesh Army is a relatively new entity and from the point of view of imperialism not at all reliable. Its Commander-in-Chief, General Shafiullah, is only 38 years old, a veteran of the 1971 war and reputedly a The second-in-command is Major General Ziaur Rehman, also a veteran of the 1971 war and reputedly 'left-minded The rest of the army is run by the young colonels and majors who were clearly the Amongst the colonels are Moinul Husain Chaudhry, Motiur Rehman, Nasim, M.H. Khan and S.A. Bhuia, who were all leaders of sectors during the 1971 war. Together with Majors Azizur Rehman Chaudhry, jaz Ibrahim and Murshed, they developed an opposition to the Awami League. The sentiment of •We fought to free our people, not to see these Awami League bastards get rich' was widespread in the army and even within the muchhated Rakhi Bahini (Security Force) which However the new leaders, civilian and military, will be confronted with the same problems which finally resulted in the overthrow of Mujibur Rehman: social and economic chaos compounded by famine conditions in large tracts of the countryside. We can therefore expect continued instability for some time.
What of the left? The pro-Moscow groups tan army. Left, the rapturous welcome when Mujib returned from captivity; and right, the tragic consequences of his policies.
were solidly behind Mujib - some of their leaders even claimed at public meetings that 'he is the Lenin of the East'. When Mujib's police opened fire on pro-Moscow students demonstrating against the Americans in 1972 and killed two of them, the pro-Moscow groups remained silent. Opposition The largest oppositional force in the country was a split-off from the Awami League, the JSD (National Socialist Party) led by Major Jalil and Abdur Rab. They posed a real threat to the Awami League for a certain time but were brutally repressed. After Mujib's death, however, it is not impossible that theJSD could play a major role. Bhashani's NAP (National Awami Party) is virtually marginalised, however, and the old peasant leader himself is hopelessly confused and compromised.
There are three main groups in the Maoist underground:
1. The Peoples Revolutionary Party of East Bengal has the largest trade union and peasant base of all the far left groups. During the war it established its own training camp, and its armed units fought against the Pakis-