Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Muhammad Khan (1910 – 23 October 1999) was a

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

officer and a war veteran. He also served in the Indian Army of the undivided

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 was a veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. While serving in

, he wrote his first book ''Bajung Aamad'' ( ur, بجنگ آمد) which was a humorous autobiography. This book became extremely popular and became one of the most famous books in Urdu literature. The success of his first book earned him critically acclaimed prominence among Urdu humorists and he is considered one of the most influential authors of this genre. He was the fellow of

Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi D.Litt. ( HC), SI, HI ( ur, – , 4 September 1923 – 20 June 2018) born in Tonk, Rajasthan, India 1923, was a Pakistani satire and humour writer who wrote in Urdu. Yousufi also served as the head of several national an ...

Zamir Jafri Syed Zamir Jafri (Urdu: سيد ضمير شاه جعفري) (January 1, 1916 – May 12, 1999) was a Pakistani poet, writer, social critic, comedian, columnist, broadcaster and telecaster. He is best known for his work revolved around his Urdu poe ...

, Shafiq-ur-Rahman.Daily Jung, 24 October 1999 He is mostly known as ''Colonel Muhammad Khan'' to distinguish him from other bearers of this common name, despite his efforts to be recognised by his

birth name A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth r ...

. Later editions of his books show his name as just ''Muhammad Khan''.

Biography

He was born as Muhammad Khan in the village of Balkasar which is a part of the city of

Chakwal Chakwal ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city in Rawalpindi Division, Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 66th largest city of Pakistan by population. Chakwal is located 90 kilometres south-west of the federal capital, Islamabad and 270 kilomet ...

. He studied in

Islamia College, Lahore Government Islamia College Civil Lines ( ur, اسلامیہ کالج ), formerly called Dayanand Anglo Vedic College, is a government college in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded by Arya Samaj as the school of Dayanand Anglo Vedic on June 1, 1 ...

and when

broke out, he joined the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

. He served in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and in the Western Desert during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, where he valorously fought against the Germans. He rose to fame when he surprised the literary circles through his book '' Bajung Aamad''. It was an autobiographical account of his life as a soldier in World War II. In 1974, he went on a tour of the UK and later published his account of the UK tour in ''Basalamat Ravi''. Later he published another book, ''Bazam Arayan'', a collection of semi autobiographical

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

Books

*Bajang Aamad *Basalamat Ravi *Bazam Araiyan *Badesi Mazah *Tasneefat-e-Kernal Muhammad Khan

References

Indian Army personnel of World War II Pakistan Army officers People from Chakwal District 1910 births 1999 deaths Pakistani military writers British Indian Army officers {{Pakistan-mil-bio-stub