Leader Hasanul Haq Inu Founded 1972 Political position Left-wing | Founder Kazi Arif Ahamed Ideology Socialism | |
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Headquarters 35-36 Banglabandhu Avenue, Dhaka | ||
The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Bengali: জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, 'National Socialist Party', abbreviated JSD or 'জাসদ', JASAD) is a political party in Bangladesh.
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History
The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD) was formed in 1972 when it split from Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the Bangladesh Awami League, under the leadership of Serajul Alam Khan, M. A. Jalil, ASM Abdur Rab and Shajahan Siraj. It had an armed wing, Gonobahini, led by Colonel Abu Taher and Hasanul Haq Inu, that led a violent left-wing insurgency against the government of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Their aim was to create a classless, socialist state along the Chinese model. This led the government to form the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini, which killed thousands of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD) activists.
Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Before the coup of 15 August 1975, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal had planned to detonate a bomb before the Secretariat Building to blow up the vehicle carrying Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
After Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family were assassinated on 15 August 1975, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal leader Abu Taher remarked: "They've made a big mistake. They shouldn't have allowed Sheikh Mujib's burial. Now a shrine will be built there. His body should have been thrown into the Bay of Bengal."
On 7 November 1975, forces loyal to Colonel Abu Taher rescued army chief Ziaur Rahman from house arrest. When Ziaur Rahman realized that the disorder set off by them in the mutiny had to be suppressed firmly if discipline was to be restored in the Bangladesh Army, he declared martial law and cracked down on the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal by executing Abu Taher and sentencing other leaders to various prison terms.
Factions
During Ziaur Rahman's rule, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal split up twice. The party fragmented again during the regime of Hussain Muhammad Ershad in the 1980s, with ASM Abdur Rab and Shajahan Siraj heading two separate factions. Abdur Rab's faction, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD, became the opposition after taking part in the 1988 elections that were boycotted by all major political parties. He later served as a minister from 1996 to 2001 in the Awami League-led government.
After the Bangladesh Nationalist Party came to power in 2001, Shajahan Siraj merged his party with it.
Meanwhile, Inu, who became MP after winning elections as a grand alliance nominee with Bangladesh Awami League's boat as his symbol in 2008, was made minister.