M Anwarul Azim (13 December 1931 – 5 May 1971) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

industrial administrator who was killed in 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 ...

. He was awarded

Independence Day Award The Independence Day Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Independence Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার), Swadhinata Padak, and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by t ...

in 2018 posthumously by the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...

Early life

Azim was born in

Raninagar Raninagar is a town, with a police station, not identified in 2011 census as a separate town, in the Raninagar II CD block in the Domkol subdivision of Murshidabad district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Raninagar ...

, Naogoan,

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

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 ...

on 13 December 1931. He graduated from Dinajpur Government Zila School in 1949 and from Surendranath College in 1951. He opened a library named 'Shakti Pathagar' in Dinajpur town. He graduated from

Rajshahi College Rajshahi College ( bn, রাজশাহী কলেজ ''Rajshahi Kôlej'') is the third oldest institution of higher education in Bangladesh. Established in 1873 in Rajshahi city, it is the third oldest college in Bangladesh after Dhaka Col ...

in 1953 with a BA. He finished MA in international relations and LLB from

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

Career

Azim joined the Narayanganj employment exchange as a manager. He then joined the East Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation, working in various facilities of the corporation. He served in Latif Bawani Jute Mill as the labor officer. In 1965, he received further training from the University of Michigan. He then joined Narayanganj Dockyard where he served as senior administrator. He had joined the

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 ...

Commission promoted to Lieutenant. He then joined North Bengal Sugar Mill as general manager.

Bangladesh Liberation war

Azim helped members 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

. He led the Mukti Bahini in the fight against Pakistan Army near Gopalpur Railway station. He helped them capture and kill Pakistan Army Major, Raja Aslam. The incident became known as

Gopalpur massacre The Gopalpur massacre ( bn, গোপালপুর গণহত্যা) was a massacre of 195 people committed by the Pakistan army during the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971. The killing took place at Gopalpur municipality of Lalpur Upazila ...

.Locals still have nightmare about supreme sacrifices of Lt. Azim, 200 others
''

The New Nation ''New Nation'' was a weekly newspaper published in the UK for the Black British community. Launched in 1996, the newspaper was Britain's Number 1-selling black newspaper. The paper was published every Monday. ''New Nation'' was initially lau ...

'', May 8, 2009 Azimnagar Rail Station Natore Bangladesh

Death and legacy

In retaliation for his role, the North Bengal Sugar Mill was attacked by Pakistan Army on 5 May 1971. The army arrested 51 including 43 staff members of the mill. They were all executed on the banks of a pond in the residential area of the mill. After the

Independence of Bangladesh Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh ...

, the pond was renamed Shaheed Sagar. Gopalpur Railway Station was renamed as Azimnagar Railway Station. On 14 December 1995,

Bangladesh Post Office The Bangladesh Post Office ( bn, বাংলাদেশ ডাক বিভাগ) also known by trade name Bangla Post is a government-operated agency responsible for providing postal services in Bangladesh. It is a subsidiary of the Ministr ...

issued commemorative postal stamps in his name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azim, M Anwarul 1931 births 1971 deaths People from Naogaon District People killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War University of Dhaka alumni Rajshahi College alumni Recipients of the Independence Day Award