Muhammed Abul Manzur | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1940-02-24)24 February 1940 Gupinathpur,Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Died | 1 June 1981(1981-06-01) (aged 41) Chittagong, Bangladesh |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch | |
| Service years | 1960–1981 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Unit | East Bengal Regiment |
| Commands |
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| Conflicts | |
| Awards |  Bir Uttom[1] Maroon Parachute Wing |
| Alma mater | Armanitola Government High School PAF College Sargodha Pakistan Military Academy |
| Spouse | Rana Yasmeen Manzur[citation needed] |
| Children | 4 |
Muhammed Abul Manzur (24 February 1940 – 1 June 1981) was aBangladeshi military officer who commanded theBangladesh Forces operations inSector 8 during theBangladesh Liberation War againstPakistan in 1971.[2] He was allegedly involved in the assassination of the then-president of Bangladesh,Ziaur Rahman.[3] Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia (President Ziaur’s widow) accusedHussain Muhammad Ershad of orchestrating President Ziaur’s assassination as well as Manzur's murder.[4] In 1995, Manzur's older brother filed a case to investigate Manzur's murder, with Ershad named as the prime suspect in the case.[2]He had been awarded theBir Uttam by the Bangladeshi government for his actions in the Bangladesh Liberation War. At the time of his death, he was thegeneral officer commanding (GOC) of the24th Infantry Division headquartered atChittagong.
Manzur was born on 24 February 1940 into aBengali Muslim family in the village ofGupinathpur in theBengal Presidency ofBritish India (now inBrahmanbaria District, Bangladesh). His ancestral paternal home was in the village of Kamalpur inChatkhil,Noakhali.[5][note 1]He was a student inCalcutta before enrolling at theArmanitola Government High School inDacca at class five. He moved to attend school inPAF College Sargodha in first entry (54, Tempest),Punjab,West Pakistan, and passed theSenior Cambridge and ISc examinations in 1955 and 1956, respectively.[6] Manzur earned anintermediate degree from the Sargodha Air Force Cadet College and studied atDacca University in East Pakistan for a year.
Following his graduation, Manzur joined thePakistani Army, subsequently attending thePakistan Military Academy and the Defence Services Staff College in Canada, where he obtained hisPSC in 1968[5][6] and joined theEast Bengal Regiment of the Pakistan Army as acommissioned officer.[6]
After the War of Liberation began in 1971, Manzur was abrigade major of a para commando brigade close to the Indian border.[citation needed] He escaped from West Pakistan to India with MajorAbu Taher, MajorMohammad Ziauddin, and Captain Bazlul Ghani Patwari and with his family.[7] From there, they made their way to Bangladesh, and Manzur joined up with fellow officers from East Bengal. He quickly became a prominent officer within the ranks and won many battles in his sector. He commanded Sector – VIII during the Liberation War from September 1971 to victory in December 1971.[citation needed]
In 1974–76, he was posted in New Delhi asmilitary attaché in the High Commission of Bangladesh to India. Known for his tenacity, keen eye for strategy, and formation of loyalty from colleagues, in 1975 he was promoted tocolonel. Upon his return to Dhaka in March 1977, he was promoted to brigadier general. After the1977 Bangladesh Airforce Mutiny, Manzur succeeded his colleague and rival major generalMir Shawkat Ali as theChief of the General Staff on October 1977. He suggested that the air force should have a limited potentiality or be restructured as a directorate under the newlyBangladesh Army Aviation Group. In March 1980, he was promoted tomajor general at the age of 41 making him as one of the youngestflag officer in South Asia's history.[8]
On December 1980, Manzur was appointed as theGOC of24th Infantry Division and area commander,Chittagong area. lieutenant generalHussain Muhammad Ershad, then chief of army staff soon gave transfer order to Manzur to a non-combatant post in Dhaka as commandant of theDefence Services Command and Staff College around March 1981.[9] This put him in direct opposition to presidentZiaur Rahman as he wanted to stay in an operational assignment. He appealed his posting order to army headquarters, but was denied as Rahman wanted to separate him andMir Shawkat Ali at same regional installations.[8] His then divisional adjutant and quartermaster, lieutenant colonelAnwar Hossain Chowdhury recalled that, Manzur also expressed frustration about the military bureaucracy and his fellow compatriots during the war were given the preferable appointments.[10]
Manzur launched a staggering rebellion in the morning of 30 May, and ordered the assassination of presidentZiaur Rahman at the thenChittagong Circuit House.[10] After an ultimatum for surrender by the government, most of Manzur's troops had abandoned their posts or consolidated with the government, which ended the rebellion. Later, government soldiers retook the radio station, and Bangladesh Radio announced a 500,000 taka reward for capture -dead or alive- of Manzoor.[11]
Although the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman was carried out in Chittagong on 30 May 1981, the militarycoup d'état failed. Manzur went on radio to speak to the nation. According to the historian Anthony Mascarenhas in hisBangladesh: A Legacy of Blood, Manzoor effectively isolated Chittagong from the rest of the country. Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad, quickly ordered to suppress any such action and issued orders to kill or capture Manzur.[9] He surrendered without incident to the police in Fatikchari.[12] Manzur was reported to have been killed on spot by angry soldiers on 2 June 1981.[6] Other reports say he was killed inChittagong Cantonment by an army officer sent from Dhaka.[12] In less than a year, Ershad took over the country in a bloodless coup.
On 28 February 1995, Manzur's elder brother, Abul, filed a murder case with Panchlaish Police Station 14 years after his killing.[2] Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad was made the prime accused in the case. Other accused are Maj (retired) Kazi Emdadul Haque, Lt Col (retired) Mostafa Kamaluddin Bhuiyan, Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Shams, and Major General (retired) Abdul Latif.[11][13]
Manzur's widow, Rana Yasmeen Manzur and their two daughters and two sons[14][15] received political asylum in the US. He was considered a war hero as Sector 8 commander in the Liberation War.[16]
[Abu Taher recounting their escape from West Pakistan to join the Bangladesh Liberation War:] Since we had to pass some daylight hours, we went to Major Manzur house who was stationed at Sialkot Cantonment. When Manzur came to know of our plan of escape, he remained quiet and expressed no enthusiasm. At the insistence of his wife, he at last agreed to escape with us. In this way Major Manzur, his family, and his Bengali batman joined us. At nightfall we drove up to the border, ... walked across the boundary and reached India.
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