Military's long bootprint in Bangladesh and Sheikh Hasina's ouster

On Monday morning, defying a nationwide curfew, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in a massive show of strength against the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. These marches began in Dhaka's Uttara, Shahbag, Kawran Bazar, and Farmgate neighbourhoods, with Gonobhobon, the PM's official residence, as their final destination. Amid the fervour, news broke that Bangladesh Army Chief Waker-Uz-Zaman would address the nation at 2:00 pm.

As the protesters advanced, visuals emerged of them meeting and greeting the deployed army troops. Some army personnel even reciprocated with smiles, selfies and handshakes. Some protesters even climbed atop the armoured carriers, as if the army had granted them safe passage to march forward.

In the past couple of days before Hasina's resignation, the situation in Bangladesh had been so dire that many couldn't help but be reminded of the country's recurring phases of military rule.

And why not? In its 53 years of existence, Bangladesh has experienced as many as 29 attempts at military coups, from the first ever in August 1975, just four years after independence.

HASINA'S FALL, AND ODDS OF MILITARY RULE

As Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign after ruling Bangladesh for 15 years, social media were flooded with assumptions that Bangladesh was on the brink of military rule.

Hours later, however, the Army Chief assured that the country would head toward a "better time", clarifying that the army would not create any hassle.

He announced that an interim government would take charge following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation and departure from the country.

Author and columnist Shafquat Rabbee, who hopes for a smoother transition of power in India's eastern neighbour, told IndiaTodayTV, "The ball is now in the court of the Bangladeshi Army generals".

Despite the army's clarification and promises, many could not dismiss the possibility that Bangladesh's future might once again fall under military rule, given the ongoing turmoil and the precedents.

MILITARY SHADOWS ON DEMOCRACY IN BANGLADESH

In recent history, Bangladesh has been ruled by Sheikh Hasina since 2009. However, the country has a long history marked by military rule, beginning with the bloody coup in 1975 that replaced its founding leader, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He and 18 others of his family were massacred by military officers on August 15, 1975.

Shaikh Hasina is Mujibur Rahman's daughter.

Since the takeover in 1975, Bangladesh remained under military rule till 1991.

While the army isn't as all-powerful in Bangladesh as it is in Pakistan, its shadow has lingered. However, the sidelining of army men from West Pakistan after 1971, led to a fracture in the Bangladesh Army.

Not all in the barracks were happy.

COUP AFTER COUP, AFTER MIJIBUR'S KILLING

It was against this backdrop that on August 15, 1975, six mid-ranking army officers along with a few hundred soldiers launched a coup that resulted in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the nation's founding leader.

They killed the man who led their freedom struggle in 1971, and his entire family calling it a "historical necessity".

The coup replaced the secular government of Rahman with an Islamic regime led by Khondaker Mushtaque Ahmed. Chaos continued. There were subsequent coups on November 3 and November 7 of the same year, leading to a series of military takeovers and turmoil.

The 3 November coup removed Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, who had dislodged Mujib months back.

Then came another coup.

Mosharraf, the man who carried out the November 3 coup, was killed in yet another coup on November 7. It was powered by Left-wing army personnel and politicians from the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD).

RULE OF ZIAUR RAHMAN

This coup, however, freed jailed Ziaur Rahman and set him on the path to eventually taking the reign of Bangladesh. Ziaur Rahman became the president of Bangladesh as a direct result of the military interventions.

He would eventually establish the Bangladesh ist Party (BNP), which is now being led by his widow, Khaleda Zia.

The fall of Secular Bangladesh had also begun and so did the country's departure from Mujib's ideas of parliamentary democracy. The army was there to stay.

Ziaur Rahman amended the Constitution, replacing the secular principles. He also legalised the Indemnity Act, which protected the killers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from legal action.

He also removed the ban on political parties such as the Muslim League and the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Notably, an intriguing anecdote from the late 1970s -- during Ziaur Rahman's rule in Bangladesh, India was simultaneously contending with another Zia — Pakistan's military dictator, Zia-ul-Haq.

In several instances, the military would rule through a President it appointed.

Ziaur Rahman, who had survived multiple assassination attempts before, May 30, 1981, turned out to be the day when he was finally killed by a faction of officers in the Bangladesh Army in Chittagong.

MILITARY DICTATOR ERSHAD FOLLOWED ZIAUR RAHMAN

Before democracy could re-emerge, Hussain Muhammad Ershad, a former army chief appointed by Ziaur Rahman, seized power in a bloodless coup on March 24, 1982.

AFM Ahsanuddin Chowdhury was placed as the titular president while Ershad pulled the strings, being the Chief Martial Law Administrator.

Ershad made attempts to legitimise his rule through the president, controlled elections and the formation of his own political party, borrowing leaders from various movements due to his lack of political capital. Ershad's rule hindered the development of a functioning democracy in Bangladesh and contributed to the country's autocratic tendencies.

The Indemnity Act that was legalised by Ziaur got a place in the Bangladeshi constitution under Hussain Muhammad Ershad.

THE MILITARY AND THE BATTLE OF BEGUMS

It wasn't until 1990, when a popular uprising led by the two Begums -- Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh ist Party (BNP) and Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League, forced Ershad to step down. Khaleda Zia was the wife of Ziaur Rahman while Sheikh Hasina was the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Ershad later admitted that he could have continued as Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan for 10 more years.

In 1991, through a constitutional amendment, democracy was reintroduced.

Although ousted in 1990, Ershad continued to wield power. In 1996, Ershad emerged as a power behind the throne when he supported the Awami League to form a government.

Much of Bangladesh's so-called democratic process in the 2000s came to be defined by the battle of the begums.

After the BNP-Jamat government's tenure ended in 2006, Army Chief Lt General Moeen Ahmed seized power in early 2007, leading to a brief interlude under Fakhruddin Ahmed, who served as Prime Minister with military support.

HASINA JUNKED CARETAKER GOVERNMENT PROVISION

In 2009, when Hasina regained power, she swiftly addressed the provision that had been exploited as a loophole, to begin her uninterrupted tenure, which ultimately came to an end on Monday (August 5).

The provision of an interim caretaker government had been used by Army Chief Lt General Moeen Ahmed to seize power in early 2007.

Hasina, after her crowning, the caretaker government system in 2011, which had been in place since the mid-1990s. This system ensured that general elections were overseen by non-partisan caretaker governments to prevent fraud and violence, much like it is in Pakistan.

Hasina, who was critical of the last military-backed caretaker government of 2006-2008, argued that unelected people should not oversee national elections.

However, with Hasina in power, attempts to dispose of her and the hard-earned democracy did not stop. Immediately after Sheikh Hasina won the elections of 2008, the Bangladesh Rifles revolt took place in 2009.

A couple of years later, another coup to establish Islamic law was planned in 2011, which was thwarted by the Bangladesh Army.

It was then said that they wished to prevent Bangladesh from becoming a "puppet of India". While the coup did not succeed, the anti-India sentiment grew significantly over the years, playing a disputed role in Sheikh Hasina's resignation and escape on Monday.

As the dust settles on Sheikh Hasina's dramatic exit, Bangladesh once again finds itself at a familiar crossroads. While a majority of its people celebrate the developments as a "third independence", others remain optimistic but cautious, recalling the familiar echoes of military boots in the power corridors of Dhaka. The military role in the removal of Hasina isn't totally clear yet.