Saturday, 12 July, 2025
The posthumous Independence Award given to late President Ziaur Rahman in 2003 will remain valid, the Cabinet Division announced in a press release on Tuesday.
The Awami League-led government had canceled the award in 2016, citing a Supreme Court verdict.
However, the press release stated that the ruling did not include any directive to revoke the award. Considering Ziaur Rahman’s outstanding contribution to the Liberation War, the government has now withdrawn its decision to cancel the award.
Ziaur Rahman, the sixth President of Bangladesh, holds a significant place in the country's history for his role in the 1971 Liberation War. While the credit for formally declaring the independence of Bangladesh is often attributed to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Zia’s contribution was crucial in the early hours of the war.
On the night of March 25, 1971, as the Pakistani military launched Operation Searchlight to suppress the independence movement, Zia, then a lieutenant colonel in the East Bengal Regiment, took a decisive step. On March 26, he made a historic broadcast from the Kalurghat radio station in Chittagong, declaring the independence of Bangladesh. His speech galvanized the people of Bangladesh to rise up against the Pakistani regime and marked the beginning of the armed liberation struggle.
Zia’s role in the war went beyond the declaration. After fleeing to India, he helped organize the Mukti Bahini, the guerrilla force that fought against the Pakistani military. He played a key role in securing international support for Bangladesh’s cause. Following the war, Zia emerged as a central political figure, serving as the country’s first military ruler after the assassination of Sheikh Mujib in 1975. He later founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and was elected president in 1978.
Although his presidency was marked by both praise for stabilizing the nation post-independence and criticism for authoritarian rule, Ziaur Rahman’s declaration of Bangladesh’s independence remains a defining moment in the nation’s history.
His leadership during the Liberation War and his subsequent role in the country's politics have cemented his place as one of the foremost figures in Bangladesh’s struggle for independence.
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The posthumous Independence Award given to late President Ziaur Rahman in 2003 will remain valid, the Cabinet Division announced in a press release on Tuesday.
The Awami League-led government had canceled the award in 2016, citing a Supreme Court verdict.
However, the press release stated that the ruling did not include any directive to revoke the award. Considering Ziaur Rahman’s outstanding contribution to the Liberation War, the government has now withdrawn its decision to cancel the award.
Ziaur Rahman, the sixth President of Bangladesh, holds a significant place in the country's history for his role in the 1971 Liberation War. While the credit for formally declaring the independence of Bangladesh is often attributed to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Zia’s contribution was crucial in the early hours of the war.
On the night of March 25, 1971, as the Pakistani military launched Operation Searchlight to suppress the independence movement, Zia, then a lieutenant colonel in the East Bengal Regiment, took a decisive step. On March 26, he made a historic broadcast from the Kalurghat radio station in Chittagong, declaring the independence of Bangladesh. His speech galvanized the people of Bangladesh to rise up against the Pakistani regime and marked the beginning of the armed liberation struggle.
Zia’s role in the war went beyond the declaration. After fleeing to India, he helped organize the Mukti Bahini, the guerrilla force that fought against the Pakistani military. He played a key role in securing international support for Bangladesh’s cause. Following the war, Zia emerged as a central political figure, serving as the country’s first military ruler after the assassination of Sheikh Mujib in 1975. He later founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and was elected president in 1978.
Although his presidency was marked by both praise for stabilizing the nation post-independence and criticism for authoritarian rule, Ziaur Rahman’s declaration of Bangladesh’s independence remains a defining moment in the nation’s history.
His leadership during the Liberation War and his subsequent role in the country's politics have cemented his place as one of the foremost figures in Bangladesh’s struggle for independence.
4o mini
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