Shafiullah: The blunted General

"Shafiullah, your troops have attacked my home. They might have killed Kamal. Send forces quickly." 

This is what Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman told Major General KM Shafiullah in the early hours of 15 August 1975 after his residence in Dhanmondi 32 came under attack. 

In what was probably the darkest moment of his life, the army chief replied, "I am doing something. But, can you get out of the house, Sir?"

Clearly, Bangabandhu – in desperate need of help – didn't call Shafiullah to hear something as foolish as this. So he went quiet. And the conversation ended. Moments later, Shafiullah found Bangabandhu's phone line dead. 

However, before this phone call from the Father of the Nation, Shafiullah had a visitor. Lt Col Salauddin, director of military intelligence, visited Shafiullah's house inside Dhaka Cantonment sometime around 5.15 am. 

Salauddin had enquired about the movement of troops, "Sir, did you order armoured and artillery divisions to march towards the city?" 

"No," Shafiullah curtly replied. 

"Tanks and artillery divisions are heading towards the radio station, Ganabhaban and Bangabandhu's house on Dhanmondi 32," Salauddin had told Shafiullah. 

"Does Shafaat [Jamil, commander of the 46th Brigade] know about it?" he had asked. 

"I don't know, Sir. I came to you first."

"Go and tell Shafaat to stop them [the troops] with [Shafaat's] three artillery divisions. I am giving him the order over the telephone," Shafiullah had said.

Then the general proceeded to call Bangabandhu and warn him, but the phone line, at the time, was busy. 

Shafiullah also communicated with AK Khandker, chief of the air force, MH Khan, chief of the navy and a few others. 

While talking to Ziaur Rahman, deputy chief of the army, and Khaled Mosharraf, chief of general staff of the army, he asked them to come to his house.

The general also tried to reach out to Shafaat Jamil. But his phone line was busy as well. Then he called Col Jamil Uddin Ahmed, who informed him that he had also been called by Bangabandhu for help. 

Shafiullah instructed Jamil to take Bangabandhu somewhere else. But that wasn't meant to be, as Jamil was killed near Sobhanbag, on his way to Dhanmondi 32. 

After speaking to Jamil [Uddin Ahmed], the army chief finally got hold of Shafaat on the phone. It sounded as though Shafaat had just woken up. The general then ordered Shafaat to resist the armoured and artillery divisions marching towards the radio station, Ganabhaban and Bangabandhu's house with three artillery divisions – 1, 2 and 4.

However, Shafaat was woken up from sleep before Shafiullah's phone, by someone's constant knocking on the door. Opening it, he found Major Khandaker Abdur Rashid, armed with a Sten gun. 

"We've captured state power under Khandaker Mushtaq. Sheikh has been killed. Don't try to take any action against us," Rashid threatened Shafayat. 

And then, moments later, Shafaat got a phone call from Shafiullah. 

After putting down the receiver, he put on his uniform and left his house for the brigade headquarters. On his way to his office, he also paid a visit to Gen Zia at his residence and shared his knowledge of the unfolding events with him. 

Zia, who was shaving at that time, seemed to have held on to a stoic calm. "So what? [the] President is dead, [the] vice-president is there, uphold the constitution," he said. 

After Shafaat left, Zia went to Shafiullah's house. By then, Khaled Mosharraf, in his sleeping gown, had also arrived there. 

While Shafiullah instructed Khaled Mosharraf to immediately go to the 46 Brigade to assist Shafaat, he was intercepted by Zia. "Don't send him. He is going to spoil it," he told Shafiullah.

Then Zia stayed with Shafiullah at his office. 

At around 7 am, Shafiullah heard a radio announcement: "This is Major Dalim speaking; the president has been killed…" Notably, Dalim had already been dismissed from the army in 1974 for violation of discipline.

Meanwhile, Zia was still at the army chief's house, and once again asked Shafiullah not to let Khaled Mosharraf go outside of his office. Shafiullah was known to be a man without initiative and his authority would always be challenged by his deputy.

"Ask him [Khaled Mosharraf] to prepare an operation order because the Indian army might get in on this pretext," Zia told Shafiullah.

After some time, the army chief started to feel unsafe even at his own office – when Major Dalim, accompanied by a dozen soldiers, stormed in and put pressure on him to go to the radio station. 

"Where is the chief?" Dalim shouted. 

"He is sitting in front of you," replied Col Nasim. "Can't you see him?"

This time Dalim pointed his Sten gun at Shafiullah and announced, "The president wants to talk to you. Come with me."

Shafiullah was surprised and infuriated at Dalim's behaviour. Still, he gathered himself to pronounce, "Dalim, I am used to weapons. If you want to use it, then do it. But do not keep your gun pointed at me. And if you want to talk to me, ask your troops to keep their arms out of the room," continued Shafiullah. 

Instead of challenging the army chief any further, Dalim rather gently said, "Sir, the President wants you in the radio station." 

"The President is dead."

"Sir, you should know Khandaker Mushtaq is the president now," said Dalim, his expression smeared with a cruel smile. 

"Khandaker Mushtaq may be your President now, but he is not mine," Shafiullah said. 

Dalim could no longer hide his annoyance. "Sir, do not make me do something for which I have not come," he replied.

After a lot of back and forth, Shafiullah eventually had to give in. Wearing a gloomy look, he came out of his office, with Major Dalim behind him, still carrying the Sten gun. Zia was also following him. 

Gen Shafiullah got in his own car to go to the radio station.

A smiling Gen Zia invited Dalim: "Come on Dalim, get in my car."

"No sir, I don't get in a General's car," replied Dalim. He got in his jeep. And Gen Zia, in his own car, followed Dalim's jeep.

Within a few minutes, they reached the office of the first Bengal unit line under the 46th Brigade inside Dhaka Cantonment – where Major Rashid, a leader of the coup, was already present. Some soldiers, who had been part of the coup, were present there as well.

Shafiullah saw the troops of the 46th brigade were agitated. One officer of the brigade pulled down a framed photograph of Bangabandhu from the wall and smashed it on the ground.

Meanwhile, Dalim again mounted pressure on the army chief to go to the radio station. But Shafiullah was reluctant to go there alone and demanded to talk to air and naval chiefs. So, he made phone calls to them and asked them to come to the Bengal line.

Soon after, the air force chief Air Vice Marshal AK Khandaker and the naval chief Admiral MH Khan arrived. And they were also forced to follow Gen Shafiullah to the radio station.

As soon as Khandaker Mushtaq saw Shafiullah at the radio station, he told him in utmost ecstasy, "Shafiullah, congratulations, your troops have done an excellent job, now do the rest."

Shafiullah was taken aback by Mushtaq's words. He said, "What should I do?"

"You should know it better," a chilling response came from Mushtaq. 

What Mushtaq and Co wanted Shafiullah to do was rather simple. A radio announcement had already been made claiming that the army had captured the state power. To back up this claim, now they needed chiefs of three services to express their allegiance to the changeover.

And thus, the three chiefs were made to express their allegiance to Mushtaq and the killers. But this was not enough. Gen Shafiullah was asked to attend Mushtaq's oath-taking ceremony as the president in the afternoon. So he, alongside the air and naval chiefs, was taken to the Bangabhaban.

Shafiullah attended the ceremony and then tried to leave Bangabhaban. But he wasn't allowed. He was kept confined in Bangabhaban until 18 August with the same dress he had worn on the morning of 15 August.

"Do not leave. A conference will be held," Shafiullah was told by Taheruddin Thakur, the State Minister of Information of Bangabandhu's Cabinet. The air and naval chiefs were also kept confined in Bangabhaban until 17 August.

Though Shafiullah was finally released from Bangabhaban, more surprises awaited him outside. 

On 24 August at noon, he received a phone call from President Mushtaq, who asked him to meet him at Bangabhaban the same afternoon. 

During the meeting, Shafiullah was offered a diplomatic posting on a foreign mission. 

"Who is replacing me?" asked Shafiullah. 

"Zia."

But Shafiullah refused to leave the country. Hearing this, Mushtaq said, "Do not think of staying here." 

Shafiullah decided to not pay any heed to the President's advice. But upon returning to the Cantonment, he found out that Zia had already taken over as the chief of army staff. 

References: 

• Mission R&AW - RK Yadav
• Jasoder Utthan Poton: Osthir Somoyer Rajniti - Mohiuddin Ahmed
• Ekattorer Muktijuddho, Roktakto Moddho-August o Shorojontromoy November - Colonel Shafaat Jamil (retd.)
• From Rebel to Founding Figure: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – Syed Badrul Ahsan
• Tinti Shena Ovyutthan O Kichu Na Bola Kotha - Lt. Colonel (Retd.) MA Hamid PSC