Special Correspondent
When a baby girl was born in a quiet corner of Jalpaiguri during the fading light of the British era, a family friend, Dr. Abani Guha Neogi, named her ‘Shanti’ (Peace).
The world was then reeling from the horror of the atomic bomb in Japan, and humanity was desperate for tranquility. Yet, the life of that child—known fondly to her family as ‘Putul’—would eventually become the epicenter of Bangladesh’s most turbulent political storms.
On Tuesday morning, the curtain fell on that storied life. Begum Khaleda Zia, the girl who grew up as Putul, the bride who entered the corridors of power as the wife of a General, and the leader who redefined the destiny of a nation, passed away, leaving behind a legacy that is as polarising as it is profound.
The reluctant politician
For nearly half her life, Khaleda Zia was defined by her role as the wife of Ziaur Rahman. She was the silent force behind the soldier-turned-president, rarely seen in the political limelight.
However, the assassination of her husband in 1981 thrust her into a vacuum she never asked to fill.
In January 1982, she traded the privacy of her home for the chaotic streets of Dhaka.
By 1984, the soft-spoken ‘Putul’ had transformed into the Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
It was the birth of the “Uncompromising leader”—a title she earned through her relentless street protests against military autocracy throughout the 1980s.
A trailblazer in a saree
Khaleda Zia’s journey was a series of “firsts.”
In 1991, she shattered the glass ceiling to become the first female Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Her tenure was not just about the optics of gender; it was under her leadership that the country transitioned from a presidential system back to a parliamentary democracy through the 12th Amendment.
From the quiet girl born in West Bengal to a leader who governed for three terms (1991, 1996, and 2001), her “brand” was built on a mix of nationalist fervor and a steadfast refusal to yield to her political rivals.
Whether it was navigating the complexities of the Four-Party Alliance or managing the shift toward a market economy, she remained the undisputed matriarch of the BNP.
The long sunset
The final chapters of her life were a stark contrast to the grandeur of her prime.
The years between 2018 and 2024 were defined by prison walls, hospital corridors, and the solitude of her Gulshan residence, ‘Firoza.’
Convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust case in 2018, she spent years in a special jail and later under “house arrest” via executive orders.
Though she was officially freed by a presidential order on August 6, 2024, following the fall of the Awami League government, her health had already become a shadow of her former resilience.
The end of an era
Khaleda Zia’s life came full circle—from the peace-seeking name ‘Shanti’ to a career defined by political warfare.
She leaves behind a party and a nation that, for better or worse, was shaped by her hand for over four decades.
As the news of her passing spreads, the “Putul” who once played in the g
