Editor-DN
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated on 30 May 1981 during a coup attempt.
Paris, France:
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s dramatic flight from Bangladesh in a helicopter on Monday is further away from the South Asian country under pressure from protesters and the military.
Since independence half a century ago, many of the country’s leaders have been forced to flee or have had their time in office cut short by violent deaths.
AFP looks at five key points in Bangladesh’s turbulent history.
1975: Massacres and uprisings
Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh emerged as a new country in 1971 after a brutal war with India.
Independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the country’s first prime minister in January 1975 before introducing a one-party system and taking over as president.
Within a year, he was killed by a group of soldiers along with his wife and three sons on August 15. Khandkar Mossadegh Ahmad again assumed power with the support of a section of the army.
Ahmad’s reign was short. He was ousted on November 3 in a coup instigated by army chief of staff Khalid Musharraf, who was assassinated in turn by rival rebels.
After more coups and counter-coups, General Ziaur Rahman assumed power on 7 November.
1981-83: Bloody coup, bloodless coup
After less than six years in power, Rahman was assassinated on 30 May 1981 during a coup attempt.
His Vice President Abdul Sattar assumed the post of Interim President with the support of General Hussain Muhammad Irshad.
But within a year, Irshad deposed Sattar in a bloody coup on 24 March 1982.
Immediately after assuming power, he imposed martial law and appointed Ahsanuddin Chaudhary as president.
Then on December 11, 1983, Irshad declared himself the head of state. Chaudhary, whose post was honorary, continued to lead a political party loyal to the general.
1990: Irshad resigned after protests.
Following a wave of protests demanding democracy in Bangladesh, Ershad resigned as president on 6 December 1990.
He was then arrested on December 12 and sent to prison after being convicted of corruption.
Justice Minister Shahabuddin Ahmed took over as interim leader until elections can be held next year.
Arshad was finally released in January 1997.
1991: First free elections
The country’s first free elections were held in early 1991, with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) emerging as the clear winner.
Khaleda Zia, widow of General Zia-ur-Rehman, became the first woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
In 1996, after Hasina’s Awami League defeated the BNP at the ballot box, she was succeeded by her rival Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of the country’s founding father, Mujibur Rahman.
The BNP returned to power in 2001, Zia once again became Prime Minister and completed his term in office in October 2006.
2007: Anti-corruption crackdown
In 2007, with the support of the military, President Ayazuddin Ahmed declared a state of emergency following anti-government protests.
A military-led interim government then launched an anti-corruption crackdown, with both Hasina and Zia imprisoned on corruption charges before their release in 2008.
After her party’s victory in the December 2008 elections, Hasina once again became Prime Minister.
(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
