In the early hours of August 15, 1975, Bangladesh awoke to one of the darkest tragedies in its history. As the nation prepared to celebrate Independence Day, a group of army officers moved silently through the streets of Dhaka. Their target was clear: the home of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s founding leader and President. By sunrise, almost his entire family lay dead, and the country’s course had changed forever.
The night of blood and betrayal
Shortly after midnight, soldiers from the Bengal Lancers and the 535 Infantry Regiment began moving toward House No. 32 in Dhanmondi. Divided into small tactical teams, they surrounded the residence with tanks, mortars and machine guns. By dawn, the house had been reduced to silence.
The coup did not emerge overnight. Discontent had been growing for months. Mujib’s decision to abolish multiparty democracy in June 1975 and replace it with the one-party Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL) had angered many, especially within the military. The move was seen by his critics as a drift toward authoritarianism and excessive dependence on India. Among those who planned the coup were Colonel Khandaker Abdur Rashid and Major Syed Farooq-ur-Rahman, who believed that removing Mujib, and his entire family, was necessary to “save” the country.
The assault on Dhanmondi
Around 5 am, gunfire erupted outside the President’s home as Major Bazlul Huda’s unit stormed the gates. Awakened by the noise, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called Colonel Jamil for help. The officer was killed as soon as he arrived.
Inside the house, Mujib came face to face with the soldiers. “What do you want?” he reportedly asked. The answer came in the form of gunfire. Witness accounts later revealed that Mujib was struck several times and collapsed on the staircase, where his body lay for hours.
A family wiped out
The killings that followed were systematic and ruthless. Sheikh Mujib’s eldest son, Sheikh Kamal, was shot dead soon after he came downstairs. His second son, Sheikh Jamal, and Jamal’s wife, Rosie, were dragged from a bathroom and executed. The President’s youngest child, ten-year-old Sheikh Russel, pleaded to be taken to his mother but was killed instead. Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, the First Lady, was shot after refusing to leave her husband’s side. Household staff and guests were also murdered.
Elsewhere in Dhaka, the operation unfolded in parallel attacks. Mujib’s nephew, Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni, and his pregnant wife were killed in their home. On Mintoo Road, Agriculture Minister Abdur Rab Serniabat and 13 members of his extended family were massacred. Soldiers clashed with loyalist troops in Savar, leading to more deaths. By the end of the morning, more than 40 people, including family members, guards and civilians, had been killed.
The survivors and their exile
Only two members of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s immediate family survived -- his daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana. They were in Germany at the time, where Hasina, then 28, had travelled to meet her husband, nuclear scientist Dr MA Wazed. When news of the killings reached them, it seemed impossible to believe. “Could Bengalis do this?” Hasina would later recall asking herself.
India quietly stepped in to ensure their safety. Then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi arranged safe housing for the sisters in Delhi, where they lived under assumed names.
From exile to political return
The trauma of that night defined Sheikh Hasina’s life. Even while in exile, she spoke publicly about the massacre and called for justice. At a rally in London in 1980, she urged the international community to recognise the killings for what they were -- a national tragedy and a crime that could not be ignored.
She returned to Bangladesh in 1981 to take charge of the Awami League, despite repeated threats and assassination attempts. The political scene, meanwhile, was unstable. Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad briefly took control after Mujib’s killing, but he was soon replaced following another coup in November 1975. Eventually, General Ziaur Rahman emerged as the dominant figure.
Justice delayed
For years, the assassins of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lived freely, protected by an indemnity law passed soon after the coup. That protection remained in place until 1996, when Sheikh Hasina came to power and revoked the legal shield.
Trials began in 1998, and in 2010, twelve men, including key plotters Rashid and Farooq, were sentenced to death. Several of the convicts, however, continue to evade justice, living abroad under assumed identities.
A scar that shaped a nation
The killings of August 15, 1975, were not just an attack on a leader but on the idea of Bangladesh itself. The coup plunged the young nation into years of political turmoil and set off a cycle of military interventions that lasted for decades. For Sheikh Hasina, it was the night that turned personal grief into political mission -- a mission that continues to define Bangladesh’s politics even today.
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