Bangladesh Today
Bangladesh down the fundamentalist drain a la Iran of 1979? Hasina has fled. Now what? Prolonged military rule or this would be just a prelude to Islamic fundamentalist-BNP-Jamat (‘democratically’) ascending the throne?
Sukla Sen

Military Rule in Bangladesh
This is not the first time that Bangladesh witnesses intervention by its military leaders. The country had been under military rule from 1975 to 1990.

1975 Coup
*  In 1975, a significant coup took place in Bangladesh, resulting in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the nation’s founding father, along with most of his family members.
* This coup was orchestrated by junior army officers, leading to Major General Ziaur Rahman taking power and declaring himself President.

Two mini coups
* The initial coup leaders could not sustain power for long, leading to further instability.
* On November 3, Brigadier General Khaled Mosharraf and Colonel Shafaat Jamil led another coup to remove the previous mutineers and restore order.
* This coup resulted in the killing of four national leaders in Dhaka Central Jail and the house arrest of Ziaur Rahman.

The return of Ziaur Rahman
* On November 7, another coup happened. It was led by Left-wing army personnel and politicians from the JatiyaSamajtantrik Dal (JSD). It resulted in the death of Brigadier General Khaled Mosharraf.
* This coup freed Ziaur Rahman from house arrest and set him on the path to eventually becoming the president of Bangladesh.
* Ziaur Rahman ruled Bangladesh until his assassination in 1981, marking a period of military dominance in the country’s politics.

The 1982 coup
* Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad led yet another coup, seizing power in a bloodless takeover.
* Ershad declared martial law, suspended the constitution, and consolidated his control over both military and civilian structures.
* During his rule, Ershad implemented several development initiatives but also faced criticism for repression and authoritarian practices.
* His regime ended in 1990 following a popular uprising demanding the restoration of democracy.
Since the 1990s, Bangladesh has seen its political landscape dominated by the Bangladesh Awami League of Sheikh Hasina, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of her arch-rival Khaleda Zia, the widow of Ziaur Rahman.
FP

Gauri Lankesh Case
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, July 16, granted bail to three accused in the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead in September 2017. The bail was granted to Amit Digvekar, KT Naveen Kumar, and HL Suresh by a bench headed by Justice S Vishwajith Shetty of the Kalaburagi bench.

A key witness in the murder case –46-year-old MadetiraThimmaiah– turned hostile and told the court that he was forced to confess by the police that he was in contact with some of the accused in the case.

In his confession statement in 2018, Thimmaiah said he had given his office space in Madikeri to Amit Digvekar and three other accused to meet and discuss various matters.

HL Suresh is accused of giving shelter to the accused in Bengaluru, while they were planning Gauri’s murder. In Jan-Feb 2017, months before Gauri’s murder, Suresh was asked to identify where Gauri lived, her home and office address, among other things.

Although the charge sheet in the case was filed in 2018, the trial began only in 2022, citing reasons such as the COVID-19 pandemic and because of a series of petitions being filed by the defence.
Korah Abraham

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 8, Aug 25 - 31, 2024