Bangladesh: Era of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

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Moudud Ahmed

Important insider-political account of the 1972–1975 Mujib years, covering administration, constitution, emergency rule, BAKSAL, and political crisis.

Est. 1947 · Bengal✺A Bilingual Archive

Referenced In Events

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Timeline View

1970

Bhola Cyclone and the 1970 Election

In late 1970, East Pakistan was shaken first by the catastrophic Bhola cyclone of 12 November and then by Pakistan's first general election under universal adult franchise on 7 December. The cyclone exposed the scale of administrative neglect, relief failure, and delta vulnerability, while the election gave Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami League an overwhelming democratic mandate. Together, ecological catastrophe and the denied transfer of power turned autonomy politics into an immediate constitutional crisis on the eve of the Liberation War.

1971

Liberation War

The Liberation War of 1971 grew out of the denied majority verdict of the 1970 election, the March non-cooperation movement, and the Pakistan Army's 25 March crackdown. What followed was not a single battlefield episode but a combined political, military, and humanitarian rupture: a provisional government, sector-based armed resistance, mass displacement into India, and finally the defeat of Pakistani forces in December and the birth of Bangladesh.

1973

First Parliamentary Election in Bangladesh

First Parliamentary Election in Bangladesh was a significant turning point in the political and social trajectory of Bengal/Bangladesh.

1974

Special Powers Act, 1974

Special Powers Act, 1974 was a significant turning point in the political and social trajectory of Bengal/Bangladesh.

1975

BAKSAL: Formation and Collapse

In 1975, Bangladesh entered a decisive turning point: the transition toward BAKSAL, escalating political centralization, the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August, and the jail killings of 3 November. These events reshaped the state, party politics, and military-civil relations for decades.