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.
