Bot at 16:33, 21 December 2022

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{{short description|Bangladeshi military officer}}
{{Other uses}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2022}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = [[Lieutenant Colonel]]
| name = Abu Taher
| honorific_suffix = [[Bir Uttom]]
| image = Abu Taher.jpg
| imagesize = 110px
| native_name = আবু তাহের
| native_name_lang = bn
| birth_date = {{birth date|1938|11|14|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Badarpur, Assam|Badarpur]], [[Sylhet]], [[Assam]], [[British Empire|British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1976|7|21|1938|11|14|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Old Dhaka Central Jail|Dhaka Central Jail]], [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh
| death_cause = [[Execution]] by [[hanging]]
| alma_mater = [[Murari Chand College]]
| party = [[Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal]]
| spouse = [[Lutfa Taher]]<ref>{{Cite news |script-title=bn:আজ আমি আনন্দিত, আমি গর্বিত : লুৎফা তাহের |url=https://www.banglanews24.com/national/news/bd/33653.details#1 |work=banglanews24.com |language=bn |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref>
| children = 3
| relations = [[M. Anwar Hossain]]<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://bangladeshonrecord.com/colonel-tahers-unfinished-revolution/#.Yf9n3P5ByUk | title=Colonel Taher's unfinished revolution | date=31 January 2022 }}</ref> (brother)
| module = {{Infobox military person
|embed = yes
|allegiance = {{flag|Bangladesh}}<br />{{flag|Pakistan}} (before 1971)
|branch = {{army|Pakistan}}<br />{{nowrap| [[File:Flag of the Bangladesh Army.svg|23px|Bangladesh Army seal]] [[Bangladesh Army]]}}
|serviceyears = 1962–1971 [[Pakistan]]<br /> 1971-1972 [[Bangladesh]]
|rank = [[Lieutenant Colonel]]
|commands = Sector commander of Sector 11
|battles = [[Bangladesh Liberation War]]
|awards = {{flagicon image|Bir Uttom ribbon bar.svg|20px}} [[Bir Uttom]]<ref>[http://www.molwa.gov.bd/site/page/3f3b7628-3ac7-4927-bf6f-c9203fae601f/Bir-Uttam Bangladesh Gazette of 15 December, 1973; Ministry of Liberation War Affairs]</ref><ref name="Two epoch-making verdicts"/><ref name=bpedia/> Maroon Parachute Wing
}}
}}

'''Abu Taher ''' ({{lang-bn|আবু তাহের}}) (14 November 1938 – 21 July 1976) was a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] [[military service]]man, who served in the [[Pakistan Army]], and later in [[Bangladesh Forces|BDF]]. He crossed into India around early August and reported to the Indian authorities. After a week screening at [[Dehradun|Dehradun, India]], Taher reported to [[Kolkata]], [[Provisional Government of Bangladesh|Bangladesh Provincial government]] at 8 Theatre Rd. He was ordered to report to Sector 11 of [[Mukti Bahini]] under command of Major [[Ziaur Rahman]], he became the sector commander after him. He served in [[Mukti Bahini|BDF]] from end of August to 2 November 1971. He was awarded the medal [[Bir Uttom]] for his gallantry in the liberation war. He was released from military service by Indian military medical board in [[Pune]], India after his leg was amputated. After independence, he was inducted into the Bangladesh Army for administrative retirement with legacy rank of [[Lieutenant colonel|Lieutenant Colonel]]. After settling in with family, the government of [[Bangladesh]] appointed him with employment at Kumilla. Later Taher turned into a political activist and leader of the left-wing [[Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal]].<ref name="Two epoch-making verdicts">{{cite web|last1=Habib|first1=Haroon|title=Two epoch-making verdicts|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/two-epochmaking-verdicts/article623525.ece|work=The Hindu|access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>

He was responsible for the [[7 November 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état|7 November coup]] which was 3rd Coup of 1975 of Bangladesh.<ref name=":5">{{cite news |title=Zia revived Razakars: Inu|url=http://bdnews24.com/politics/2013/07/20/zia-revived-razakars-inu|work=bdnews24.com|access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite book|last1=Newton|first1=Michael|title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia|date=17 April 2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO, LLC|location=United States of America|isbn=9781610692861|page=455}}</ref> After freeing [[Ziaur Rahman]] and reinstating him as [[Chief of Army Staff (Bangladesh)|army chief]],<ref name=":5" /> many personnel including Taher was found guilty of [[high treason]] and [[murder]] and executed.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Ahsan |first=Syed Badrul |author-link=Syed Badrul Ahsan |date=7 July 2015 |title=Bourgeois dreams of socialist revolution |newspaper=The Daily Observer |url=http://www.observerbd.com/2015/07/07/98425.php |access-date=16 July 2022}}</ref> However, in 2011, his trial was declared illegal by the high court of Bangladesh.<ref name=":2">{{cite news |last=Niloy |first=Suliman |title='Zia staged trial to kill Col Taher' |url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/05/20/zia-staged-trial-to-kill-col-taher |newspaper=bdnews24.com |access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref><ref name=":3" />

==Early life and education==
Abu Taher was born in [[Badarpur, Assam|Badarpur]], Assam Province of [[British India]] on 14 November 1938.<ref name="TWO GIANTS">{{cite news |title=Two Giants |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/two-giants/ |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=14 November 2013 |access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref> His ancestral village was Kazla in [[Purbadhala Upazila|Purbadhala]], [[Netrokona District]] of [[Bangladesh]]. After the completion of higher secondary school from [[Murari Chand College]] in [[Sylhet]], Taher joined the [[Pakistani Army]] in September 1960 as an officer candidate.<ref name="bpedia"/> He was married to [[Lutfa Taher]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://thedailynewnation.com/news/35784/nerakona-lutfa-taher-mp-spouse-of-sector-commander-late-col-abu-taher-and-jsd-inu-central-leader-mukllesur-rahman-muktadir-addressing-the-biennial-confeence-of-jsd-inu-netrakona-disrict-unit-at-local-public-hall-yesterday.html |title=Nerakona: Lutfa Taher MP, spouse of sector commander late Col Abu Taher and JSD (Inu) central leader Mukllesur Rahman Muktadir addressing the biennial conference of JSD (Inu), Netrakona disrict unit at local public hall yesterday |work=The New Nation|access-date=21 November 2017|language=en}}</ref>

==Military career==
Taher received his Commission in 1962 as a second lieutenant in the Pakistan Army. He joined the elite Pakistan [[Special Services Group]] (Commando Force) in 1965.<ref name="TWO GIANTS"/> Following his training, he participated in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]] in the Sialkot sector of [[Kashmir]]. For his part, he received a war participation medal from the Pakistan Army. After the war, Taher took officers pre-qualification course on [[guerrilla warfare]] at [[Fort Benning]] in the United States in 1969. He was posted to the [[Quetta]] Staff College, [[Pakistan]] in 1970.<ref name=bpedia>{{cite book |last=Hossain |first=Md Anwar |year=2012 |chapter=Taher, Lieutenant Colonel Abu |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Taher,_Colonel_Abu |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>

===Bangladesh War of Independence===
Towards the end of August 1971, [[Captain]] Taher, along with three other Bengali officers: Major [[Muhammed Abul Manzur|Manzur]], Major [[Mohammad Ziauddin (army officer)|Ziauddin]] and Captain Bazlul Ghani Patwari defected from the Pakistani Army and crossed over the border near [[Abbottabad]], [[West Pakistan]], into India.<ref name="bpedia" /> After two weeks under Indian intelligence screening and debriefing, he was sent to [[Bangladesh Armed Forces]] (BDF) HQ at 8 Theatre Road, Calcutta and subsequently posted to Sector 11. He was promoted to Major in September . Major Zia appointed Taher as Sub-Sector Commander No. 2 at Mahendraganj.<ref>{{cite news |title=Taher execution an outright murder: HC |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/col-taher-execution-an-absolute-killing-hc/ |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=20 May 2013 |access-date=20 June 2022}}</ref> Sector 11 was located across the [[Rangpur District]], which comprised [[Mymensingh District]], [[Tangail District]] and parts of the [[Rangpur District]]. On October 10, upon Major Zia's temporary transfer to the Sylhet sector, Major Shafayat Jamil handed over the interim command of the sector to BDF. Sector 11. On 2 November 1971, Taher lost his leg from a small mine blast during a debriefing.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kamalpur, Phulbari tasted freedom on this day in '71 |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/kamalpur-phulbari-tasted-freedom-on-this-day-in-71-53244 |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=8 March 2015 |access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref> Squadron Leader [[M. Hamidullah Khan]] was officially appointed Sector Commander of Sector 11 under direct orders through [[Emergency Action Message|EAM]] from General Osmani, Bangladesh Interim Provincial Government Headquarters. Taher was flown to [[Pune]], India. On 21 November Taher received a Medical Board Release. His leg was later amputated there, where he remained until February 1972. For his valour, he was awarded [[Bir Uttom]].

==Post-war activities==
Following his return, Taher was reinstated into the [[Bangladesh Army]] in April for effective retirement following administrative procedure. He was retired with a legacy entitlement rank of Lieutenant Colonel and hence is widely known as Colonel Taher.<ref name="bpedia" />

===Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal===
Due to his left-leaning communist ideas of governance he joined the [[Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal]].<ref name="history1">{{cite web
|url=http://www.jsdbd.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=3
|title=History of Jatiya Samajtantric Dal
|publisher=Dhaka Informatix
|access-date=2 December 2009
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726211400/http://www.jsdbd.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=3
|archive-date=26 July 2011
}}</ref>

The [[Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal]] had split from the [[Bangladesh Chhatra League]], the student wing of the [[Bangladesh Awami League]] and called for establishing [[socialism]] through an armed revolution. Taher became the head of its armed wing, the [[Gonobahini]] and led a violent insurgency campaign against the government of [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hossain|first1=Kazi Mobarak|title=Hasanul Haq Inu's JaSoD splits as he names Shirin general secretary|url=http://bdnews24.com/politics/2016/03/12/hasanul-haq-inus-jasod-splits-as-he-names-shirin-general-secretary |work=bdnews24.com |date=13 March 2016 |access-date=11 July 2022}}</ref>

===15 August 1975 Coup===
Abu Taher welcomed the [[assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]] on 15 August 1975, remarking, <blockquote>
They've made a big mistake. They shouldn't have allowed Sheikh Mujib's burial. Now a shrine will be built there. His body should have been thrown into the [[Bay of Bengal]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6">{{cite news |title=Who Said What After August 1 5|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/who-said-what-after-august-15-37449 |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=17 August 2014 |access-date=16 July 2022}}</ref> </blockquote>
It was known that [[Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal]] had plans for an insurrection against Sheikh Mujib's government.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |first=Lawrence |last=Lifschultz |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/471667979 |title=Bangladesh : the unfinished revolution |date=1979 |publisher=Zed Press |isbn=0-905762-07-X |oclc=471667979}}</ref> After the 15 August coup, JSD encouraged its followers to study Marx's [[The Class Struggles in France, 1848–1850|The Class Struggles in France]].<ref name=":7" /> On the morning of the coup, Taher received several phone calls, urging him to go to [[Bangladesh Betar]], the government radio station. Upon reaching the radio station, he met [[Khandaker Abdur Rashid|Major Rashid]], one of the key organisers of Sheikh Mujib's assassination. Rashid took Taher to a room, where he saw [[Shariful Haque Dalim|Major Dalim]], [[Taheruddin Thakur]] and [[Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad]]. Taher was invited to join the cabinet by Rashid, which he declined. Taher was present at Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad's swearing-in ceremony.<ref name=":6" />

=== 3 November 1975 Coup ===
After the 15 August coup, the chain of command in the Bangladesh Army was disrupted, as the majors involved in Sheikh Mujib's assassination 'began acting like generals'.<ref name=":7" /> General [[Khaled Mosharraf]] urged General [[Ziaur Rahman]] to restore the chain of command, which he was either unwilling or unable to do. As a result, Khaled Mosharraf launced the [[3 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état|3 November coup]], ousting Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and placing Zia under house arrest. Right before Zia was arrested, he reportedly made a phone call to Taher, urging him to save him.<ref name=":7" /> Every night between 4 and 6 November, secret meetings of enlisted men and non-commissioned officers were held under Taher's leadership. These troops belonged to Biplobi Shainik Sangstha (Revolutionary Soldier's Organisation), which was a 'socialist and egalitarian' group which clandestinely existed within the Bangladesh Army.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Anthony |last=Mascarenhas |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/242251870 |title=Bangladesh : a legacy of blood. |date=1986 |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |isbn=0-340-39420-X |oclc=242251870}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> At these meetings, they finalised plans to organise an uprising of soldiers and civilians and free Zia from imprisonment.

=== 7 November 1975 Coup ===
The [[7 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état|coup]] was launched during the early hours of 7 November in Dhaka Cantonment and soon spread to other areas, including Rangpur and Chittagong.<ref name=":7" /> Crowds poured into the streets of Dhaka to support the soldiers and shouted slogans, such as 'The people and soldiers have united'. Ziaur Rahman was freed from house arrest by soldiers and taken to the headquarters of the 2nd Field Artillery regiment, where he met Taher. Witnesses claim that Zia embraced Taher and thanked him for saving his life.<ref name=":7" />

==Trial and execution==
Once Ziaur Rahman regained control of the army, he realized that the soldiers' mutiny had to be suppressed if discipline was to be restored.<ref name=":1" /> On 24 November 1975, he ordered Taher arrested on charges of [[high treason]] and [[murder]].<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Hossain |first=Kazi Mobarak |date=13 March 2016 |title=Hasanul Haq Inu's JaSoD splits as he names Shirin general secretary |url=http://bdnews24.com/politics/2016/03/12/hasanul-haq-inus-jasod-splits-as-he-names-shirin-general-secretary |newspaper=bdnews24.com |access-date=11 July 2022}}</ref> Taher was tried by a military tribunal inside the [[Dhaka Central Jail]] and sentenced to death on 17 July 1976. He was executed by hanging on 21 July 1976.<ref name="The Daily Star">{{cite news |last=Manik |first=Julfikar Ali |date=25 August 2010 |title=5th amendment verdict paves way for justice |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=152188 |newspaper=The Daily Star |access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref> His [[last meal]] consisted of mangoes and tea.<ref name=":7" /> The trial was later considered flawed.<ref name="The Daily Star"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Katsiaficas |first=George |date=2013 |title=Asia's unknown uprisings |location=Oakland, Calif. |publisher=PM |page=270 |isbn=978-1-60486-488-5}}</ref>

==High Court ruling==
On 22 March 2011, the High Court overturned the previous judgement that authorised Taher's execution by a military tribunal while the nation was under martial law. The military court judgement was declared illegal.<ref name=":3">[http://bdnews24.com/details.php?cid=2&id=190563&hb=2 "HC declares Taher trial illegal"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930084753/http://bdnews24.com/details.php?cid=2&id=190563&hb=2 |date=30 September 2011 }} bdnews24.com</ref> The court observed Taher's execution had happened according to [[Ziaur Rahman|Major General Zia]]'s plan.<ref name=":2"/>

==See also==
* [[Bangladesh Forces]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.col-taher.org Website commemorating Col. Taher]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taher, Abu}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:Bangladesh Army colonels]]
[[Category:Executed activists]]
[[Category:People of the Bangladesh Liberation War]]
[[Category:People from Netrokona District]]
[[Category:People executed for treason against Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Executed Bangladeshi people]]
[[Category:20th-century executions for treason]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Bir Uttom]]
[[Category:People executed by Bangladesh by hanging]]
[[Category:Mukti Bahini personnel]]
[[Category:Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal politicians]]
[[Category:Murari Chand College alumni]]
[[Category:People from Karimganj district]]

Abu Taher - Revision history

Bot at 16:33, 21 December 2022