How A Bangladeshi Revolutionary Challenged The Army And Was Hanged For It

As Bangladesh gets set for one of its most consequential elections, scheduled for February 12, it is the right time to revisit the figures and moments that have shaped the country's modern history. The current political climate comes after nearly 18 months of upheaval. In August 2024, a student-led uprising forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina out of office and brought Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead an interim government.

With the polls almost here, one figure who continues to stand out in Bangladesh's political memory is Colonel Abu Taher, a war hero who challenged the military hierarchy and paid the ultimate price for it.

Who Was Mohammad Abu Taher?

Mohammad Abu Taher was born in 1938 in Badarpur, then part of British India. Trained in the Pakistan Army, he defected during the 1971 Liberation War and joined the Mukti Bahini. He later commanded Sector 11, one of the war's active fronts.

During the fighting at Kamalpur, Taher lost a leg. For his bravery, he was awarded the Bir Uttom, Bangladesh's second-highest military honour. After independence, he continued serving in the new Bangladesh Army.

The Idea Of A “Classless Army”

Taher believed that the military, shaped by colonial and Pakistani traditions, had become rigid and distant from the people it was meant to serve. He envisioned a “classless army”, where privilege among officers was reduced and soldiers were more closely connected to society.

In Comilla cantonment, Taher encouraged soldiers to farm and engage in productive labour. He distributed leaflets calling for a reformed, egalitarian armed force. While some saw his ideas as progressive, senior officers viewed them as a threat to discipline and order.

By the early 1970s, Taher left the army and joined the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), a left-wing party critical of the political elite and military leadership.

The 1975 Bangladesh Coup

Bangladesh was unstable after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August 1975. The months that followed saw a series of coups and counter-coups within the military.

On November 7, 1975, Taher played a key role in a soldiers' uprising organised through the Biplobi Shainik Sangstha, which called for ending class divisions within the armed forces. The movement helped free Major General Ziaur Rahman, who had been detained by rival officers.

Execution Of Mohammad Abu Taher

Zia soon consolidated power. Taher, though, was sidelined.

Initially seen as a hero by some for freeing Zia, Taher was soon considered a threat. On November 24, 1975, he was arrested and accused of high treason, murder, and fomenting indiscipline within the army.

Taher and others were tried under martial law regulations in a secret military tribunal held inside Dhaka Central Jail. He was sentenced to death on July 17, 1976 and executed by hanging three days later on July 21.

Decades later in 2011, Bangladesh's High Court declared Taher's military trial illegal and the execution a “cold-blooded murder”. The court suggested that Taher ought to be recognised as a patriot rather than a traitor.