29 March 2024

Ershad no more

Collected
File photo: Hussain Muhammad Ershad - Photo Desk

Former military dictator and also the running Jatiya Party chairman Hussain Mohammad Ershad died on Sunday at 07:45am at Dhaka Combined Military Hospital.

Bangladesh military mouthpiece Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed media about Ershad’s death.

The 89-year old military dictator and politician, Ershad, was admitted to the CMH on June 22 and later was put on life support.

He was suffering from myelodysplastic syndromes and there were several complications in his lungs, liver and kidneys, said JP presidium member Major (Rtd) Khaled Akhter.

The most controversial character in the national politics of the post liberation era, HM Ershad seized power as the Chief Martial Law Administrator from the elected civilian president justice Abdus Sattar on March 24, 1982, and subsequently served as president of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990 by holding a referendum on him in 1985 and two controversial elections in 1986 and 1988.

Even after stepping down from the post of president following a civil revolt against his regime in December 1990, Ershad remained as one of the factors in the national politics, especially ahead of the successive national elections till December 2018.

Ershad was termed as ‘autocrat’ ‘unpredictable’ for capturing power for nine years by creating terror, purchasing his critics and for initiating a variety of politico-economic corruption schemes.

His followers and admirers, however, laud him as ‘Pallibandhu’ for decentralisation of the civil administration through inception of upazila parishad and initiating several developmental activities across the country.

He was the leader of the opposition in the present parliament.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her condolence message, prayed for the departed soul of the leader of the opposition.

Born to Maqbul Hossain and Majida Khatun on February 1, 1930 in Koochbihr, India, Ershad had his primary education in Koochbihar and higher secondary in Rangpur.

He was one of nine siblings. His parents migrated from Dinhata to Bangladesh (the then East Pakistan) in 1948 after the India-Pakistan partition.

Ershad married Raushan Ershad in 1956. The couple had a son together and also adopted a daughter.

Raushan later went on to become the senior co-chairperson of Jatiya Party, and also a lawmaker and the leader of the opposition in the parliament.

He married again in 2000 to Bidisha, his second wife and later made her a presidium member of JP. The couple has a son. However, the marriage ended in divorce over a “political drama” in 2005.

Kamruzzaman


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