Abu Osman Chowdhury
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Abu Osman Chowdhury (1 January 1936 – 5 September 2020) 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' ...
and
freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...
. 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 ...
, he served as the commander of Sector 8 of the
Bangladesh Forces 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 ...
that covered the present-day Kushtia, Jashore, Khulna, Barishal, Faridpur and Patuakhali regions.


Background

Chowdhury was born on 1 January 1936, in Madnergaon village in present-day Faridganj Upazila of
Chandpur District Chandpur District () is a district located in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. It was a part of the Cumilla District until 15 February 1984.Musa, Muhammad. Brahmanbariar Itibrittyo, Shetu Prokashoni, Brahmanbaria,1998. History During the ru ...
. He completed his bachelor's degree from
Comilla Victoria College Comilla Victoria Government College is a college in Comilla, Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest and renowned colleges in Comilla as well as in Chittagong division. The college is located beside of Ranir Dighi on 32 acres of land including its in ...
.


Career

Chowdhury joined the 2nd Battalion the
East Bengal Regiment The East Bengal Regiment ( bn, ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্ট) is an infantry regiment ( regimental system type) and the largest military formation of the Bangladesh Army. History The East Bengal Regiment was for ...
of 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 ...
in 1958. He was promoted to the
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
rank in April 1968.


Role in Bangladesh liberation war

In 1971, Chowdhury was posted in
Chuadanga Chuadanga ( bn, চুয়াডাঙ্গা) is a prosperous city in the western part of Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous cou ...
, under
Kushtia District Kushtia District ( bn, কুষ্টিয়া জেলা, pronunciation: ''kuʃʈia'') is a district in the Khulna administrative division of western Bangladesh. Kushtia is the second largest municipality in Bangladesh and the eleventh l ...
as a major of 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 ...
and the Commander of 4th Wing
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 ...
(EPR). He left for Kushtia with his family on 23 March 1971 to attend an official meeting. He was staying at Kushtia Circuit House on the night of 25–26 March when the news of
Operation Searchlight Operation Searchlight was the codename for a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army in an effort to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in former East Pakistan in March 1971. Pakistan retrospectively justified the opera ...
reached him. Sensing imminent danger he left Kushtia on early morning of 26 March 1971 and headed to Chuadanga via Jhenaidah while local political workers have already revolted. Later
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 ...
soldiers raised the flag of Bangladesh at EPR 4th Wing Headquarters in Chuadanga. Later the 4th wing of EPR, led by Major Chowdhury and reinforced with Police and Ansar personnel and local youth, attacked 27 Baluch of Pakistan Army stationed at Kushtia and eliminated almost 2 companies. In the first sector commander's conference in July, Chowdhury was appointed the commander of the western sector, which comprised
Kushtia Kushtia ( bn, কুষ্টিয়া) is a city in the Khulna Division of southwestern Bangladesh. Kushtia is the second largest municipality in Bangladesh and the eleventh largest city in the country. The second largest city in Khulna div ...
,
Jessore Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...
, areas of Faridpur, including Doulatpur-Satkhira Road encompassed within
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 ...
. It was past noon of 26 March when Chowdhury reached his Wing headquarters at Chuadanga. There, his NCOs briefed him of the overall situation including formal organisation of local resistance in the wake of the crackdown at Dhaka. In the meantime local Awami League leader Dr Ashab Ul Haq, who had earlier declared war against the occupational Pakistan armed forces the same morning at a public meeting, had contacted him over telephone and invited him to an emergency meeting with the public leaders and representatives of the local administration. At the meeting Chowdhury was asked to take charge of the armed resistance force that he accepted at once. After a long discussion the first ever war command of Bangladesh, named South Western Command, was formed on 26 March 1971 in Chuadanga. While Chowdhury was given the position of the Commander, Dr Ashab Ul Haq, MPA became the Chief Advisor and Barrister Abu Ahmed Afzalur Rashid alias Badal Rashid, MNA, and Advocate Yunus Ali, MPA, were made Deputy Chief Advisors. The whole of western region of the Padma was taken under the command comprising that of Kushtia, Faridpur, Jessore, Khulna districts. All the armed personnel from defence, EPR, Police, Ansar, Mujahid and armed student wing of the area were vested under the Command. The newly built District Council
Dak Bungalow A dak bungalow, dak-house or dâk-bungalow was a government building in British India under Company Rule and the Raj. It may also refer to some similarly-built or -used structures in modern India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. __NOTOC__ Origins T ...
was made the Command Headquarters. The next day on 27 March at about noon the Pakistani flag, last flying one at the EPR Wing headquarters was ceremoniously lowered and the tri-colour Bangladesh flag was hoisted at the flag post by Chowdhury. Captain A R Azam Chowdhury, his deputy, was there who afterwards played valiant role under the Command. Chowdhury held the position until division of Bangladesh war commands into 11 Sectors by the Provisional Government on 11 July 1971. The South Western Command was then renamed Sector-8 with some revision of the command area and Chowdhury continued to hold the position of the Sector Commander until Major M Abul Manjur took over in September 1971.


Post war

On 7 November 1975, during the 1975 coup, Chowdhury's wife, Nazia Osman was killed in his Gulshan residence. He retired from Bangladesh Army as a
lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
in 1976. In 2014 he was awarded the
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 ...
for his contribution to 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 ...
. On 5 September 2020, he died at the
Combined Military Hospital Combined Military Hospitals ( ur, , abbreviated as CMH) are Pakistan Armed Forces hospitals situated in various cantonments of Pakistan. History During the British Raj, the British Indian Army troops depended for their medical treatment enti ...
in
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
. Though he initially tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, a subsequent test did not detect the virus. Abu Osman Chowdhury was given a state funeral and buried at Banani Army Graveyard.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Abu Osman 1936 births 2020 deaths People from Chandpur District Comilla Victoria Government College alumni Bangladeshi lieutenant colonels People of the Bangladesh Liberation War Recipients of the Independence Day Award Burials at Banani Graveyard