Chitta Ranjan Dutta

Bir Uttom Bir Uttom ( bn, বীর উত্তম, lit=Great Valiant Hero) is the second highest award for individual gallantry in Bangladesh after the Bir Sreshtho and the highest gallantry award for a living individual. Since the independence of Bang ...

(1 January 1927 – 26 August 2020), also known as C R Dutta, was a Bangladeshi

war hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero' ...

who served as

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of the

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and def ...

. He was a key sector commander of the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

. After independence, he served as the armed forces commander in Rangpur and later went on to become the first director-general of the

Bangladesh Rifles Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...

(present-day

Border Guards Bangladesh Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...

) in 1973. Dutta was a prominent minority rights advocate in Bangladesh. He was also the president of the

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council also known as the Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikyo Parishod ( bn, বাংলাদেশ হিন্দু বৌদ্ধ খ্রিষ্টান ঐক্য পরিষদ) is a ...

Early life

Dutta was born on 1 January 1929 to Upendra Chandra Dutta and Labanyaprabha Dutta. The ancestral village of Dutta of Mirashi was in erstwhile Sylhet district, presently in Chunarughat Upazila of

Habiganj District Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ, Hobigonj), formerly known as Habibganj ( bn, হবিবগঞ্জ, Hobibgonj), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a succe ...

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions of ...

of Bangladesh. His father was a police officer posted in

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...

, the then capital of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and so he was born in Shillong. He started his schooling in Laban Government High School in Shillong, but moved to Habiganj after second grade. In 1944, he appeared for Entrance from Habiganj Government High School. Later he took admission at

Asutosh College Asutosh College (Bengali: আশুতোষ কলেজ) is a college affiliated to the University of Calcutta, situated in Southern Kolkata, close to the Jatin Das Park Metro Station, gate No. 2. It was established in 1916 as the South Subu ...

of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

in science. However, he left Asutosh College and completed his B.Sc. from Daulatpur College in

Khulna Khulna ( bn, খুলনা, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of Khulna District and Khulna Division. Khulna's economy is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 b ...

Army career

In 1950, after completing his graduation, Dutta joined the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

Kakul Kakul (Kakol) is a village situated in the Tehsil and District Abbottabad, at an elevation of 1300 metres, 5 km northeast of center of Abbottabad city near the Thandiani Hills. Abbottabad is a District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Paki ...

. He was commissioned in 1952 as a second lieutenant in a Piffer unit with a majority of Pathan jawans. After completing his YO Course from Quetta Staff College, he was posted in Hyderabad, Sindh. He was one of the few Hindu officers in the 1950s in the Pakistan Army. There were only a handful of other Hindu officers in the Pakistan Army:, one M.N. Chakraborty of the Baloch Regiment who resigned as a captain in 1950 and transferred to India, one G.C. Bose of 1 East Bengal Regiment who retired as a major in 1957, and an M.N. Saha of

26th Jacob's Mountain Battery The 26th Jacob's Mountain Battery was an artillery unit of the British Indian Army. The battery can trace its origins back to Golandauze Battalion (1826). In 1843 it became the 10th Company Golandauze Battalion of Bombay Foot Artillery, and becam ...

who retired as a lieutenant colonel of the EPR in 1962. During the 1950s and 1960s, he commanded a rifles platoon, served as adjutant of a rifle company (1954–57), adjutant of an infantry battalion (1958–1960) and commanded an infantry company as major (1962–1964). For a time he was the

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

in a

Frontier Corps The Frontier Corps ( ur, , reporting name: FC), are a group of paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's ...

brigade based in Peshawar and then the principal of the East Pakistan Rifles Training Depot (1962–64). During the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, then Major Dutta served as a wing commander in the

East Pakistan Rifles East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

. Between 1968 and 1970, he was adjutant of the

Gilgit Scouts The Gilgit Scouts constituted a paramilitary force of the Gilgit Agency in northern Jammu and Kashmir. They were raised by the government of British India in 1913, on behalf of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, to police the northern front ...

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

. In 1970, Major Dutta was serving in the Quartermaster Branch of the 12th Infantry Division at Quetta. In January 1971, he had taken a three-month leave and was staying at his

Habiganj Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ) is a major town and district headquarters of Habiganj District in the division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Population: Total population of Habiganj is about 95,000 Railroad * Habiganj Bazar–Shaistaganj–B ...

residence. After Mujibur Rahman's 7 March speech, Dutta mentally prepared himself for a possible war. However, as the Pakistani occupation army launched the Operation Searchlight, Dutta wasn't initially aware of the widespread repression and torture. At that time he attended a meeting of the political leaders at the house of his neighbour Colonel Abdur Rab. Following the meeting, Dutta decided to fight for the independence of Bangladesh. During the

, Dutta became the sector commander of Sector 4, which covered the whole of the present Sylhet Division and some of adjoining areas. After the war, in 1972, Dutta was appointed as brigade commander in Rangpur. In 1973, formed the Bangladesh Rifles. He became the first director general of Bangladesh Rifles. In late 1973 he ordered BDR to attack holdouts of Chakma separatists who had collaborated with the Pakistan Army and ordered expulsion of civilians and burning of huts in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...

. He later on regretted this decision

Rights advocacy

The liberation war of Bangladesh was fought on the principles of Bengali nationalism. The 1972 Constitution of Bangladesh included the principles of the democracy, secularism, socialism and Bengali nationalism at the four pillars of the nation. After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, successive military regimes gradually removed the founding principles by Islamic principles. On 9 June 1988, Islam was declared as the state religion of Bangladesh. Major General (Retd.) Chitta Ranjan Dutta along with minority leaders from other communities founded the

. Since the foundation, Dutta served as the President of the organization in uninterrupted manner. As the president Dutta fought tirelessly for the rights of the minorities. Dutta campaigned for the return of the properties confiscated using the Vested Property Act to their rightful owners. Dutta was also vocal on removal of Islam as the state religion of Bangladesh and supported the restoration of 1972

Constitution of Bangladesh The Constitution of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের সংবিধান — ), officially the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutta, Chitta Ranjan 1927 births 2020 deaths Asutosh College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Generals of the Bangladesh Liberation War Bangladesh Army generals Mukti Bahini personnel Director Generals of Border Guards Bangladesh Recipients of the Bir Uttom Bengali Hindus Bangladeshi Hindus Bangladeshi secularists People from Shillong People associated with Shillong