The sun was nowhere to be seen. Mid-Poush had cast its wintry spell over nature. Yet, amid this cold gloom, people from across the country rushed to Dhaka to bid her farewell. On the last day of the departing year, as an uncontainable tide of mourners and waves of grief swept through the city, it seemed as if nature itself stirred from slumber. As though offering its final tribute, the sun gently gave away its warmth, leaving behind a chill in the air. Such a tender, love-filled farewell from both people and nature is a rare destiny—one that befell her. For she was Begum Khaleda Zia, whose affection was deeply woven into the soil, water, and greenery of this land. And that love was returned by the country’s 180 million people.
In the early hours of 30 December, on a fog-laden morning, former three-time successful prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia—an uncompromising voice on issues of independence and sovereignty—breathed her last on a hospital bed. Even before dawn broke, news of her death spread across the world. People from cities, towns, and villages began rushing to Dhaka. The air around Evercare Hospital in the capital grew heavy with sobs and sighs. It is difficult to recall any recent example in world history where the death of a political leader evoked such unprecedented grief across all classes, professions, religions, and communities.
Anticipating a massive gathering for her final farewell, the BNP leadership discussed the matter at the policy level from the outset. As a result, the venue for her funeral prayers was set at the field in front of the National Parliament Building, facing Manik Mia Avenue. Later, considering the overwhelming turnout, the main stage was placed on the western side of Manik Mia Avenue.
Although the funeral prayers were scheduled for 2:00pm on 31 December, crowds began gathering at the venue from early morning. Even before noon, the entire Manik Mia Avenue area and several surrounding kilometers were packed with mourners. From main roads to narrow alleyways, everywhere was flooded with grieving people. It was an unforgettable moment. The capital stood in awe. Not only men, but large numbers of women also poured into the streets in mourning.
Among them was a 33-year-old widow who came onto the streets with her two young children. The great leader for whom changing the fate of ordinary people and safeguarding the country’s independence and sovereignty were sacred trusts had never been let down by the streets. From democratic movements and struggles to her final journey, this sea of people once again proved that truth.
The uncompromising leader whom years of oppression, imprisonment, persecution, and state repression could not shake was bid farewell through tears. In the late afternoon, carrying the priceless gift of the people’s unconditional love, she went to rest beside her husband, the martyred President Ziaur Rahman. There, she will remain in eternal peace.
On 30 May 1981, in Chattogram, president Ziaur Rahman was brutally assassinated by conspirators against Bangladesh. At that time, his wife Begum Khaleda Zia was a full-time homemaker. Through a series of events, on 3 January 1982, she joined the BNP as a general member, marking the beginning of her political journey. In March 1983, she became the party’s senior vice chairman and delivered her first speech at an extended party meeting on 1 April. When Justice Abdus Sattar fell ill, she assumed the role of acting chairman. On 10 May 1984, she was elected BNP chairperson unopposed. Under her leadership, the BNP flourished fully.
In 1983, under her leadership, the Seven-Party Alliance was formed. As the movement against Ershad’s military rule began, Begum Zia led the BNP into the anti-Ershad movement through this alliance from September 1983. At the same time, the Seven-Party Alliance jointly launched protest programmes with the Awami League-led 15-party alliance. Five rounds of movements continued until 1986. However, on the night of 21 March 1986, when Awami League President Sheikh Hasina decided to participate in elections under Ershad, unity in the movement was disrupted. The 15-party alliance split into an eight-party and a five-party bloc. The eight-party alliance joined the elections, while under Begum Zia’s leadership, the Seven-Party and Five-Party alliances continued the movement and rejected the polls. From 1987, Khaleda Zia launched the one-point movement demanding the fall of autocrat Ershad, forcing him to dissolve parliament. The united movement resumed thereafter.
Finally, after eight years of relentless and uncompromising struggle, the BNP won an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections held on 27 February 1991. Khaleda Zia contested and won all five constituencies in which she stood.
On 19 March 1991, Begum Khaleda Zia was appointed prime minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh through the Fifth National Parliament. Her government restored the parliamentary system. On 2 April, she placed the bill in parliament, and on the same day introduced the Eleventh Amendment Bill to reinstate Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed to his previous position. On 6 August 1991, both bills were passed unanimously.
In the Sixth National Parliamentary Election of 1996, Khaleda Zia was elected Prime Minister for the second time. In 2001, after a landslide victory in the Eighth National Parliamentary Election, the BNP formed the government and Khaleda Zia became prime minister for the third time.
Since joining the BNP as a primary member, she was arrested five times. She was first arrested on 28 November 1983, during the anti-Ershad movement, followed by arrests on 3 May 1984, and 11 November 1987. On 3 September 2007, she was arrested along with her two sons and was released on 11 September 2008, following a High Court order.
On 8 February 2018, the Hasina government arrested Begum Khaleda Zia again. At that time, she was healthy and strong. However, when she was conditionally released on 25 March 2020, she returned to her residence in Firoza in a wheelchair. From then on, she was never able to walk upright again. Through what many describe as “slow poisoning” in prison, she was gradually pushed toward death. Ultimately, bearing the pain of prolonged torture, she departed for the hereafter.
In December 2013, the Awami League government erected a barricade of sand-laden trucks in front of the gate of her residence, Firoza, preventing her from leaving her home. Again in 2015, sand trucks were placed to confine her inside her Gulshan political office for nearly three months.
Earlier on 13 November 2010, the three-time elected former prime minister was forcibly evicted from her residence on Moinul Road in the cantonment—her home of 40 years filled with memories and emotions—under orders of the Hasina government. This unprecedented and cruel eviction remains one of the darkest chapters in Bangladesh’s political history.
False cases were filed against her two sons—BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman. The vindictive and vengeful attitude shown by Sheikh Hasina toward the Zia family is, by any measure, unforgivable.
Begum Khaleda Zia was a pioneer of Bangladesh’s democratic movement. The wisdom and farsighted leadership she displayed during the anti-Ershad movement will remain unforgettable in the country’s political history. Personally, she was reserved and straightforward; politically, she possessed extraordinary intellect and strategic acumen.
Khaleda Zia was a leading figure in the struggles for democracy, voting rights, independence, and self-determination in Bangladesh. Rising above party lines, she became a beloved guardian of people from all walks of life—a living symbol of a united Bangladesh. With her passing, an era has come to an end. For her immense contributions to the motherland, the people of Bangladesh will remember her with reverence for generations to come.
May you rest in peace in the hereafter, O compassionate soul.
