The book critically examines several successive blunders committed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after becoming the chief helmsman of Bangladesh. Disregarding warnings of his well wishers, he appointed pro-Pakistani quislings to key positions in his government and the military, who were later utilised by Bhutto and the Pakistani establishment to exact revenge for the dismemberment of their country and the humiliating surrender in Dhaka.

Mujib also sidelined figures like Tajuddin Ahmed and other tested comrades who had carried out his instruction to steer the liberation war through difficult days. Despite his secular ideals, he founded an Islamic foundation, which was hijacked by Islamists to promote fundamentalist tenets.

But his most grievous blunder was to launch one party rule under BAKSAL and in curbing free press, despite Tajuddin’s dire warning that this would lead to conspiratorial politics and endanger him. His desperation to secure Islamabad’s recognition to counter India’s growing influence in Bangladesh, ultimately led to his downfall.

About the Author: Manash Ghosh graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and joined The Statesman in 1966 as a trainee journalist. His big break came in 1971 when the Bangladesh Liberation War started. He covered it from various battlefields as an embedded journalist at considerable risk to his life. After the war, when Bangladesh became independent, he was posted in Dacca as the paper’s bureau head for three years. He has served in various positions including as chief of Calcutta news bureau and as resident editor of the Delhi edition. In 2004 he became the founding editor of Dainik Statesman, a Bengali language daily newspaper run by The Statesman group, which he helmed for 11 years. His first book Bangladesh War: Report from Ground Zero, was published by Niyogi Books in 2021.