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“This is Major Zia speaking.” That is how Major Ziaur Rahman debuted in the public life of his country on March 27, 1971. Minutes earlier, Zia had driven to the Kalurghata radio transmitter centre of Chittagong. In his firm voice, he announced the independence of East Pakistan and the beginning of Bangladesh. The condition of Bangladesh was tragic at that time. Two days earlier, the Pakistani forces had started Operation Searchlight with the killing of hundreds of thousands of people across Dhaka and elsewhere, triggering a massive exodus of people to neighbouring Indian States.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the movement for freedom, had been arrested and flown to Pakistan. Other top leaders like Tajuddin Ahmed and Syed Nazrul Islam had begun their perilous journey to the border with India where weeks later they would launch a guerrilla movement. A disciplined officer in the Pakistani Army, Zia had fought in the western sector in the 1965 war with India and had been decorated for his valour. But Zia had been seething because of the lack of respect that Bengali officers were shown in Pakistan’s military.
Soon after the massacre began on March 25, Zia rebelled and arrested and killed the commanding officer of his unit, Lt. Col. Abdur Rashid Janjua, and other non-Bengali officers. He asked the radio operator to convey to the guerrilla fighters that, “Eighth battalion of the East Bengal Regiment has rebelled. They will now fight for the independence of Bangladesh.” Thus began a new journey that would lead Zia to launch his own guerrilla group Z-force that fought in Sylhet, Dhaka and the eastern part of Bangladesh while basing out of Tura in Meghalaya and Tripura.
The guerrilla war by the Mukti Bahini and Z-force and other smaller groups finally culminated in the India-Pakistan war of 1971 and liberation of Bangladesh. Liberation, however, started a new warfare — an internal power struggle of Bangladesh.
In January 1975, Sheikh Mujibur, unable to contain public disturbances following the disastrous famine of 1974 and poor economic conditions, launched a single-party system called BAKSAL (Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League). Mujib was assassinated in a coup.
After his killing, Khondokar Mushtaq, a close associate- turned-betrayer, formed a government consisting of Awami League and BAKSAL leaders. On October 3, he announced that the situation would start normalising from next year and that from August 15, 1976, the ban on political activities would be lifted and a general election would be held on February 28, 1977. A powerful section of the military that extended support to Mushtaq felt that in case of elections, other four top leaders of Awami League who were imprisoned could win.
Rise to power
That powerful wing of the military that wanted prolonged control over civilian administration killed four other national leaders (Tajuddin Ahmed, Syed Nazrul Islam, Mansur Ali and A.H.M. Quamruzzaman) who had formed the Bangladesh government in exile in 1971. Four days after the jail killings, Dhaka witnessed the “military mutiny” that brought in Ziaur Rahman to the forefront. On paper, Zia was the Deputy Martial Law Administrator but actual control of the government slipped to his hands in the absence of effective political leadership.
The history of 1971 Liberation War is written from multiple angles. In one version, Mujib gave the call for liberation with his rousing speech of March 7, 1971 that was followed by the April 10 declaration by Tajuddin Ahmed as the leader of the government in exile. In another version, the story is narrated from the point of view of Zia, who declared independence after killing his Pakistani commanding officer in Chittagong. In the second story, Zia is the symbol of freedom of Bangladesh and that is where the mythical origin of the BNP’s politics lay.
Since taking charge effectively in November 1975, Zia experimented with politics and ideology. He introduced himself in public speeches as a soldier first and then as a farmer. He wanted to take full control of the armed forces and bring a semblance of normalcy in civil bureaucracy. In a speech broadcast on radio and TV on November 11, 1975, Zia said: “I am not a politician. I am a soldier. I have no relation with politics and our government is totally nonpartisan and apolitical.” On April 21, 1977, Gen. Zia declared himself the President and in a subsequent national referendum, he secured 98.8% vote to stay in power.
On May 22, 1977, Zia launched the 19-point agenda that expressed his faith in “Almighty Allah” and said his government would ensure justice for all citizens irrespective of religion, caste, and other differences.
His political philosophy first came out as the public announcement from the brief experimental ‘Nationalist Front’. On June 3, 1978, Bangladesh witnessed a presidential election in which Zia contested as the leader of the Nationalist Front and received a majority vote even as his opponents criticised the election as controversial. On June 12, 1978, Zia took the oath of office as the President of Bangladesh. As President, he needed a political vehicle. According to veteran author Mohiuddin Ahmed, it was President Zia who came up with the name of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). On August 30, 1978, the BNP was registered.
On September 1, 1978, in a press conference on Dhaka’s Romna Restaurant premises, Zia formally announced the launch of the party.
Out of the seven years between the Liberation War and the launch of the BNP, Zia spent four in the shadow of Mujib. The BNP emerged at a time when a weakened Awami League was led by Zohra Tajuddin, widow of Tajuddin Ahmed, and Abdel Malek Ukil. The BNP based itself on “Bangladeshi nationalism”, not Bengali nationalism. Humayun Kobir, the foreign policy adviser of the current BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, said: “Bangladeshi nationalism is territorially defined. It means nationalism of the citizens who live on the land of Bangladesh.”
Period of agitation
Zia’s nationalistic outlook was meant for his domestic audience. Abroad he advocated multilateralism and dialogue and reached out to world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai and U.S. President Jimmy Carter. After the assassination of President Zia on May 30, 1981 in the Chittagong Circuit House, the BNP’s political journey was paused. Gen. Hossein Mohammed Ershad took charge of the country.
During the interregnum, Khaleda Zia, widow of Gen. Zia, took charge of the party in 1984. During the Ershad years, the BNP agitated for restoration of parliamentary democracy alongside the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina. Khaleda Zia brought the BNP back to power in 1991. Tarique Rahman entered the centre stage after the BNP came to power in 2001. Tarique is now credited with leading the party to a historic victory in the February 12 election, and is set to become the next Prime Minister.
The BNP’s origin lies in the psychology of the proud armed forces and bureaucratic elite of East Pakistan who were caught between the freedom movement for Bangladesh and the instability of the mid-1970s, says Mohiuddin Ahmed, an expert on the BNP’s history. Today, the party has emerged as the most powerful political vehicle in a restless nation.
Published – February 15, 2026 01:15 am IST
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Bangladesh Nationalist Party | Return of the old guard
