Shariful Haque Dalim

Shariful Haque Dalim (; born 2 February 1946) popularly known as Major Dalim, is a retired army officer of Bangladesh Army and a diplomat. He was convicted for his part in the 15 August 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état.

Early life

Dalim was born in Dacca at Bengal Presidency of British India to Shamsul Haque a textile businessman and former member of parliament for Dhaka-11 in the Ziaur Rahman ministry.

After the independence of Bangladesh however, Dalim while serving as squadron commander for the Bengal Lancers was dismissed due to breach of discipline in 1974.

Diplomatic In 1976, he was sent as a diplomat to China after being assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dalim voluntarily retires from army the same year for enlisting with the foreign affairs ministry. In 1980, he joined the London High Commission. Then he was high commissioner to Kenya. During the speech, he also unofficially announced the proclamation of an Islamic Republic. However, this would later be ignored. Meanwhile, Brigade Commander Brigadier Quazi Golam Dastgir immediately phoned the radio station and ordered them not to broadcast Dalim's announcement.

After the coup, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad succeeded him as the president. The new president declared martial law and passed the 1975 Indemnity Act which provided legal protection to those involved in the coup. After the killing of then president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975, he was reinstated in Bangladesh Army and promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served in the Armed Forces Division for a brief time.

3 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état

During the initial stages of Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf's coup, Dalim and Lt. Colonel Noor went over to the cantonment to surrender. According to some reports, he lived in Pakistan on a Kenyan passport and had business interests in Africa.

Public appearance Shariful Haque Dalim had been in hiding for an extended period due to his controversial role in Bangladesh's political history, particularly his involvement in the 1975 military coup that resulted in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Convicted in absentia for his role in the coup, he faced legal and political challenges during Sheikh Hasina's rule, which made his return to public life difficult.

Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's regime and the political upheaval in Bangladesh in August 2024, Dalim resurfaced publicly on 5 January 2025, in a live interview on the YouTube channel of expatriate journalist Elias Hossain. In the interview, Dalim spoke about his life in hiding, contemporary political issues, and his perspective on his role in shaping Bangladeshi history.

Personal life Dalim was married to Nimmi Chowdhury until her death in 2005 and has one daughter. His younger brother is Kamrul Haque Swapan and younger sister is Mohua Haque.