Editing History of Bangladesh (section)

====First martial law and Zia administration====
[[File:Statiefoto op paleis Soestdijk. V.l.n.r. Beatrix, H.M., van Vollenhoven, Ziaur R, Bestanddeelnr 930-2280.jpg|thumb|President [[Ziaur Rahman]] with [[Queen Juliana]] and [[Princess Beatrix]] of the [[Netherlands]] in 1979]]
The coup leaders installed Vice-President [[Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad]] as Sheikh Mujib's immediate successor. Ahmad promulgated martial law. He reshuffled the leadership of the Bangladesh Armed Forces and jailed some prominent confidantes of Sheikh Mujib, including Bangladesh's first Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad. The [[Jail Killing Day|jailed leaders were killed]] on 3 November 1975 to prevent them from siding with a counter-coup that began that day.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mascarenhas |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Mascarenhas |year=1986 |title=Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |pages=79, 82–86 |isbn=0-340-39420-X}}</ref>

The counter-coup, led by Brigadier General [[Khaled Mosharraf]], overthrew Ahmad from the presidency. On 6 November 1975, the chief justice, [[Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem]], was installed as president. The next day Mosharraf was killed during a mutiny led by Abu Taher. The army chief, Lieutenant General [[Ziaur Rahman]], emerged as the country's most powerful figure.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mascarenhas |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Mascarenhas |year=1986 |title=Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |pages=98, 102, 108–109, 111 |isbn=0-340-39420-X}}</ref>

The dispute over the [[sharing the water of the Ganges]], due to India's construction of the [[Farakka Barrage]], led Bangladesh to seek the intervention of the United Nations in 1976. The dispute was addressed through a bilateral agreement in 1977.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Ian |editor-last=Preston |title=A Political Chronology of Central, South and East Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f5wcH0abSQcC&pg=PA18 |year=2005 |orig-year=First published 2001 |publisher=Europa Publications |page=18 |isbn=978-1-135-35680-4}}</ref>

Lt Gen Ziaur Rahman (popularly known as Zia) assumed the presidency from Justice Sayem on 21 April 1977. Zia formed the [[Bangladesh Nationalist Party]] (BNP). Parliamentary elections were held in 1979, in which the BNP gained a landslide majority and the Awami League became the principal opposition party.

President Zia restored [[free market]]s, redefined socialism as "economic and social justice" in the constitution and crafted a foreign policy which emphasised solidarity with Muslim majority countries and [[SAARC|regional co-operation in South Asia]]. Bangladesh achieved rapid economic and industrial growth under Zia's presidency. The government built the country's first [[export processing zone]]s. It operated a popular food-for-work programme, reversed the collectivisation of farms and promoted private sector development.

Zia faced twenty mutinies and attempted coups against his government.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mascarenhas |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Mascarenhas |year=1986 |title=Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |pages=121 |isbn=0-340-39420-X}}</ref> The final coup attempt resulted in his [[Assassination of Ziaur Rahman|assassination in 1981]]: Zia was killed by troops loyal to Major General [[Abul Manzoor]] on 30 May 1981. The mutiny was later suppressed by army chief Lieutenant General [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Mascarenhas |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Mascarenhas |year=1986 |title=Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |pages=159, 168, 171–172 |isbn=0-340-39420-X}}</ref>