Against General Ershad's autocratic rule

Army Chief Hussain Muhammad Ershad come to power in a bloodless coup on 24 March 1982. He initially called himself Chief Martial Law Administrator and then the President on 11 December 1983. Dr. Alamgir was then a Joint Secretary of the Government in the Ministry of Economic Relations and General Secretary of the Administrative Service Association. He did not like violation of the constitution by the Army Chief under the constraint of Ershad’s military rule between 11 Dec 1983 to 6 December 1990. During this period Dr. Alamgir worked to: 

​

1. Further development of the country given the fait accompli of the military rule;

2. Help bring about economic and administrative changes and reforms in the best interest of the country;

3. Protect the Administrative Service of the country as a neutral and legal service aiming at just and fair administration in accordance with the constitutional mandate;

4. Help discontinuation of the military rule when the political parties and the people wanted democracy to replace it in 1990.

​

For continuing development of the country during this period he advised his colleagues to work as usual to procure foreign assistance, increase export and draw up and implement development projects. He himself negotiated procurement and installation of 210MW power generator station one of the largest in the country from Soviet Union at a rock-bottom price of US $72 million and opened up inflow of funds and assistance from Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Finland.

 

In respect of economic reform, he wrote the Land Reform Act as the Secretary of Land Reform Committee sizing down individual land ownership and safe guarding interest of the landless contractual farmers to a minimum of 1/3rd of the  produce making another 1/3rd reserved for defraying cost of inputs and allowing the non-cultivator owner not more then the remaining 1/3rd. In the field of political reform, he opposed inroad of the military into public administration and protected the status of the civil officials as employees of the Republic in accordance with the constitution of the country and supported and help implemented elected Local Government Institutions at the district and the sub district level i.e. Zilla Parishad and Upzilla Parishad.

 

Finally when in the face of political opposition to the military rule at the end of 1990 he convinced the military brass not to support Ershad to continue as the President, made sure that the civil administrative officers would not support him either, refused jointly with the then Army Chief General Nuruddin to be instrument of oppression in support of Ershad’s military rule. The constitutional position of the civil administration in this regard was made clear to Ershad by Dr. Alamgir himself when Ershad made a request to him to secure the support of the civil administration to continue military rule and he refused.

 

This made Ershad resign as President and open up avenue for rule by elected Government in accordance with the constitution Ershad in his turn transferred him to an union portant training institution. The Ford Foundation came to his help and arranged a fellowship for him for teaching and research in Penn State University U.S.A.