Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, (born 2 February 1953 in

Munshiganj District Munshiganj ( bn, মুন্সীগঞ্জ), also historically known as Bikrampur, is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District. Geography Total land area is 235974 acres (954 km2), ...

, East Pakistan) is a retired

three-star general Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star A one–star rank is usually the lowest ranking general or flag ...

of the Bangladesh Army and former Chief of the Bangladesh Rifles during the conflicts with Border Security Force of India and skirmishes with

Banga Sena Bangabhumi ( bn, বঙ্গভূমি, meaning the land of Vanga, also spelt Bongobhumi) also known as Bir Bongo ( bn, বীর বঙ্গ), is a separatist movement to create a Bengali Hindu country for Bangladeshi Hindus in southwestern ...

militant group in the Bangladesh–India border. A former

Principal Staff Officer Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the office holder/ or boss in any school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level i ...

of the Army of Bangladesh he was elevated to the position of Quartermaster general at the same time his Military Academy course-mate Moeen U Ahmed, the Chief of the Army Staff was made first serving Four-star General in national military history. He is widely known to be credited to have gone to the Presidential Palace to ask the President of Bangladesh to declare the

State of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

which led to the Events of 2008 that brought the military in power.

Early life

Jahangir was born on 2 February 1953 and was commissioned in the Corps of Artillery of Bangladesh Army in 1975. Beginning his career as a Gunner he served in different artillery outfits in various capacities including commanding Two Artillery Brigades and a Field Artillery Regiment.

Career

Jahangir had also been an instructor in Bangladesh Military Academy. Later he served as a Group Testing Officer (GTO) in Inter Services Selection Board. He got the unique opportunity to serve as United Nations Military Observer and Staff in three different UN Missions between 1994 and 1996 in

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

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and Georgia. He is a graduate of Defence Services Command and Staff College and Bangladesh National Defence College, Mirpur, Dhaka. Trained both at home and abroad Jahangir served in number of Command, Staff and Instructional assignments of Bangladesh Army. Apart from Artillery outfits, he commanded Bangladesh Rifles for a significant period - in the rank of Major General as Director General and in the rank of Colonel as Sector Commander. He was assigned with staff responsibilities in Bangladesh Army Headquarters as Master General of Ordnance, Military secretary, Director of Inspectorate of Technical Development and General Staff Officer - 1St Grade in Military Intelligence Directorate. He was also the Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster in HQ 66 Infantry Division and General Staff Officer - II (Coordination) in Bangladesh Military Academy. He served as the chairman of Bangladesh Diesel Plant, an army operated manufacturing company. He was the

of Armed Forces Division.

Relations with India

Chowdhury exclaimed at a press briefing after talks with Indian Home Minister Swami Chinmayanand that India was harboring 90 terrorist camps of anti-Bangladesh separatists. He played a controversial role in blaming India for the grenade attacks which took place on 17 August 2005. The Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh said that the Indian newspapers presented a distorted version of his earlier statement and that he actually said that some Indian criminals might have been involved in the countrywide bomb blasts in Bangladesh. Relations suffered between the two countries as the Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying "Government of India is deeply shocked and dismayed at the remarks. This is a baseless and scurrilous allegation and is all the more shocking because it has been made against a friendly country and particularly after the two countries have had useful and constructive talks between the Bangladesh Rifles and Border Security Force". He further claimed that Indian militants might have crossed into Bangladesh territory to perform the acts. In a separate incidence reported by BBC, India accused BDR of intruding into their Air Space with a few helicopters, which General Chowdhury denied and said that BDR has one helicopter which was then kept with Bangladesh Army. He accused the Indian Army of supporting

, a banned militant group in Bangladesh.

The Mutiny of 2009

In 2009, his immediate successor, the then Chief of BDR Major General Shakil Ahmed was shot and killed along with his wife during the

2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt The Bangladesh Rifles revolt (also referred to as the Pilkhana tragedy) was a mutiny staged on 25 and 26 February 2009 in Dhaka by a section of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary force mainly tasked with guarding the borders of Bangla ...

. As QMG, General Chowdhury headed the Army Enquiry Committee. On 3 December 2009 he was transferred to the Foreign Ministry. He was retired from Army on 2 February 2010.

Personal life

Jahangir is married to Mrs Laila Arzu and they have a son Dr Rishad Choudhury Robin and a daughter Ms Rasna Choudhury Liz.

References