51 years of Revolution and Solidarity Day: the 7 November sepoy-people's uprising

Today is 7 November. The people of Bangladesh remember the day with respect as Revolution and Solidarity Day. On 7 November 1975, a historic chapter was written in the country's history, and today marks 51 years since that event.

Independent Bangladesh was born on 16 December 1971 through the great Liberation War. But in the four years that followed, wrong policies, misrule, one-party rule and a sinister understanding that sold out sovereignty plunged the country into deep crisis. The misrule, plunder, corruption and repression of the Awami League, the famine of 1974, one-party undemocratic BAKSAL rule, the oppression of party loyalists and the Rakkhi Bahini, and a submissive foreign policy created wide economic inequality between the rulers and the common people. Democracy and the people's basic human rights were taken away. All of this set the stage for the sepoy revolution.

After independence, a hegemonic power did not want Bangladesh to stand tall as a strong state in the world. So the army was kept weak while a powerful paramilitary force, the Rakkhi Bahini, was formed. That created intense discontent within the army.

After the political change of 15 August 1975, an uncertain situation arose in Bangladesh. Taking advantage of the fragile economy and political instability of post-independence Bangladesh, international and regional hegemonic groups became active in carrying out their agenda. In that sequence, on 3 November 1975, an ambitious and confusing military coup took place under the leadership of Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf.

The then army chief, Major General Ziaur Rahman, was an honest, principled, professional and popular army officer. He understood that creating political division within the army would directly threaten the country's sovereignty. So when he refused to endorse the conspirators' unconstitutional move, he was placed under house arrest at his own residence.

Journalist and researcher Anthony Mascarenhas described the situation in his famous book 'Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood'. He wrote that the 3 November coup was not a people's uprising; it was an ambitious military step that had cut itself off from the mainstream of ordinary soldiers. Ziaur Rahman's house arrest created intense anger among ordinary soldiers, because they saw him as a symbol of national honour and military integrity.

The political activities that took place from 3 to 6 November at Dhaka University campus and elsewhere sent a clear message to ordinary soldiers and patriotic people that a conspiracy was under way to turn the country back into a colony of foreign hegemony.

In the early hours of 7 November, an unprecedented explosion of nationalist feeling erupted among the ordinary soldiers of the Dhaka cantonment. The soldiers filled the streets and barracks with the slogans 'Naraye Takbir, Allahu Akbar' and 'Sipahi-Janata Bhai Bhai, Ziaur Rahmaner Mukti Chai'. With great courage, the ordinary soldiers freed their beloved general from captivity.

When he came out of the cantonment after being freed, thousands of ordinary soldiers erupted in joy around him. News of the soldiers' revolution in the cantonment spread across Dhaka city within moments. Ordinary people took to the streets. Soldiers and people embraced one another, climbed onto tanks waving the national flag, and raised slogans against hegemony. In history, such a bloodless and spontaneous people's revolution by soldiers and civilians is rare.

Eyewitness Lt. Colonel (retd.) M. A. Hamid described that night's events. In his book 'Tinti Sena Abhyutthan o Kichhu Na Bola Kotha', he wrote that revolutionary sepoys came out of different units and gathered spontaneously around Zia's residence. Everyone's destination was Zia's residence. The plan was to gather there together, break the fort and bring the captive Zia out.

Lawrence Lifschultz, the renowned American researcher on South Asian geopolitics, described the event in his book 'Bangladesh: The Unfinished Revolution' this way: before dawn on 7 November, thousands of soldiers and civilians took to the streets of Dhaka. The tanks did not come out to suppress the people; rather, decorated with flowers, they came out as a symbol of unity between the army and the people.

7 November was not only the day of one man's release. The day was the final defeat of the international conspiracy to turn Bangladesh into a puppet state. Just as the goodwill and dominance of a neighbouring country had weighed on Bangladesh's foreign and domestic policy after 1971, the revolution of 7 November shattered that chain.

The sepoy-people's revolution of 7 November brought Ziaur Rahman face to face with a historic national responsibility. He first took charge as Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrator. Later, in the interest of protecting national solidarity and restoring law and order, he became Chief Martial Law Administrator and took oath as President of Bangladesh on 21 April 1977.

He did not confine himself behind the military uniform. He deeply believed that for a sustainable state, the direct consent of the people and the revival of the democratic process were essential. So he quickly took the initiative to bring back multi-party democracy. The renowned historian and political analyst Professor Rounaq Jahan wrote in her book 'Bangladesh Politics: Problems and Issues' that Ziaur Rahman understood the legitimacy of military rule was temporary. By holding a referendum, conducting local elections and finally forming a political party to win the presidential election of 1978, he civilianised his rule and restored multi-party democracy. In the presidential election held on 3 June 1978, Ziaur Rahman was elected President of Bangladesh by a large popular vote.

The political philosophy born after this revolution took concrete form as 'Bangladeshi nationalism'. On 1 September 1978, Ziaur Rahman founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). It was not merely a political party; it was a great national unity platform born of the spirit of the 7 November sepoy revolution. He realised that the true identity of the people of this land, formed by a unique blend of geography, language, religion and culture, is 'Bangladeshi'.

When General Ziaur Rahman took charge of Bangladesh after the 7 November revolution, it was an economically bankrupt state described as a bottomless basket. But because of his hard work, honesty and far-sighted leadership, Bangladesh began to become a self-reliant state within a short time. He went from village to village running the canal-digging programme and encouraged the farmers of this country to produce. In his time, Bangladesh met its food deficit and gained the ability to export rice abroad.

He took Bangladesh's standing on the international stage to the top. In the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), he was elected a member of the OIC Al-Quds Committee and played a historic role in mediating the Iran-Iraq war. The dream of South Asian regional cooperation that Ziaur Rahman saw later led to the formation of SAARC. In 1978, Bangladesh defeated Japan to be elected a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a shining proof of Zia's far-sighted diplomatic success.