Presidency of Ziaur Rahman

Bangladesh
Ziaur Rahman
President of Bangladesh
21 April 1977 – 30 May 1981
Himself
CabinetZia
PartyBangladesh Nationalist Party
Election1977, 1978
SeatBangabhaban
← Sayem
Sattar →

Ziaur Rahman's tenure as the President of Bangladesh started with his acquisition of the presidency from Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem on April 21, 1977 after the latter resigned from his position on health grounds.[1] Zia became the President of Bangladesh at a time when Bangladesh was suffering from a host of challenges that included low productivity, food shortage that resulted in a famine in 1974, unsatisfactory economic growth, severe corruption and a polarized and turbulent political atmosphere after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members in a coup that was followed by a series of counter-coups in the military.[2][3] He is credited as a solid administrator with pragmatic policies who contributed to the economic recovery of Bangladesh by liberalizing trade and promoting private sector investments.[4]

During his presidency, Bangladesh started manpower export to Middle Eastern countries which eventually became Bangladesh's major source of foreign remittance and transformed the rural economy of the country. Besides, it was during his tenure that Bangladesh started exporting ready-made garments to take the benefits of the multi-fibre agreement,[5] a sector that made up 84% of the total export in Bangladesh as of 2023. The share of customs duty and sales tax in the total tax of Bangladesh grew from 39% in 1974 to 64% in 1979, which reflects a massive surge in economic activities inside the country.[6] During his presidency, Bangladesh's agricultural output grew two to three folds within five years.[7] Jute became profitable for the first time in independent Bangladesh's history in 1979.[8]

Zia's tenure as president saw a series of deadly coups in the Bangladesh Army that threatened his life. He suppressed the coups with brute force and after each coup secret trials were held inside the cantonment according to the military law. But he ran out of luck on May 30, 1981, when some military men forced their way inside the Chittagong Circuit House and killed him there.[9] He received a state funeral in Dhaka on June 2, 1981, which was attended by hundreds and thousands of people, making it one of the largest funerals in the history of the world.[10]

South Asia specialist William B. Milam said, "It is hard to imagine what would have happened to Bangladesh had Ziaur Rahman been assassinated in 1975 instead of 1981. A failed state on the model of Afghanistan or Liberia might well have resulted. Zia saved Bangladesh from that fate."[11]

  1. ^ Sayem, Abusadat Mohammad (1988). At Bangabhaban: Last Phase. Hakkani Publishers. p. 40. ISBN 9844100887.
  2. ^ "One Man's Basket Case". The New York Times. 30 January 1975. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  3. ^ Milam, William B. (2010). Bangladesh and Pakistan: Flirting with Failure in South Asia. University Press Limited. pp. 35–38. ISBN 9789848815199.
  4. ^ Eisenbraun, Stephen (14 December 2004). "Interview with Stephen Eisenbraun" (Interview). Interviewed by Charles Stuart Kennedy. Library of Congress.
  5. ^ Khan, Mushtaq H. (2013). "The Garments Takeoff" (PDF). The Political Settlement, Growth and Technical Progress in Bangladesh (Working Paper). SOAS, University of London. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  6. ^ Sobhan, Rehman; Islam, Tajul (June 1988). "Foreign Aid and Domestic Resource Mobilisation in Bangladesh". The Bangladesh Development Studies. 16 (2): 30. JSTOR 40795317.
  7. ^ Morris, Michael L. (1997). Wheat production in Bangladesh: Technological, economic and policy issues (Report). IFPRI. p. 14. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  8. ^ Rahman, Wafiur (11 July 2020). "Stopping production at BJMC jute mills-II: Incurring losses since inception". Dhaka Tribune. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Bangladesh: Death at Night". 8 June 1981. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  10. ^ Branigin, William (3 June 1981). "Vast Crowds Mourn at Burial of Zia". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  11. ^ Milam, William B. (2010). Bangladesh and Pakistan: Flirting with Failure in South Asia. University Press Limited. p. 69. ISBN 9789848815199.