Manabendra Narayan Larma
LeaderPerson
Chittagong Hill Tracts politician and autonomy leader
Manabendra Narayan Larma organized student and community movements in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, including campaigns for compensation and rehabilitation after the Kaptai hydroelectric project displaced hill families. He united representatives of different hill peoples, served in the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly in 1970, and was elected to Bangladesh's Jatiya Sangsad in 1973.
The post-1971 debate over whether Bangladesh's constitutional nationalism would recognize the distinct cultural, linguistic, and political identity of the peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Larma argued for recognition of Jumma identity alongside state nationalism and sought special administrative status for the region.
On 15 February 1972 he founded the Parbatya Chattagram Jana-Samhati Samiti (PCJSS). After constitutional demands were not accepted, the organization developed the Shanti Bahini as an armed wing in 1973; Larma remained its central political leader until his assassination on 10 November 1983. His autonomy demands remained part of the political background to the 1997 Peace Accord.
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Details→Ziaur Rahman
LeaderPerson
Sector Commander and Z Force Commander
“A battlefield commander with major symbolic wartime visibility.”
He broadcast the declaration of independence from Kalurghat on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and later commanded Sector 1, Sector 11, and Z Force in combat operations.
Chittagong and multiple fronts during the Liberation War, 1971.
His radio broadcast gave early symbolic visibility to the independence call, while his sector and force commands contributed to organized military resistance.
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Details→Sheikh Hasina
LeaderPerson
Awami League leader and prime minister during the 2024 uprising
As prime minister, she led the Awami League government during the July-August 2024 crackdown and resigned on 5 August 2024 after the student-led uprising reached a decisive national rupture.
Bangladesh politics from the anti-Ershad movement through the 2024 Anti-Discrimination Movement and post-resignation transition.
Her resignation turned the protest wave into a state-transition moment and made accountability for protest repression a central public question.
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