Burhan-ud-Din (1914–1996) ( ur, برھان الدین) of

Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...

was a veteran of the

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

. Burhan-ud-Din was the son of Mehtar

Shuja ul-Mulk His Highness Sir Shuja ul-Mulk KCIE (1 January 1881 – 13 October 1936) was the Mehtar (from fa, ) of the princely state of Chitral, and reigned it for 41 years until his death in 1936. He belonged to the royal Katur dynasty, which ruled t ...

, the ruler of

. He was by far the most famous Chitrali as a result of his service in the

under

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperia ...

during

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 ...

. He later served with the

Chitral Scouts , image = Chitral scout.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = A band of the Chitral Scouts. , start_date = 1903 , disbanded = , country = , allegiance = , branch = Civil Armed Forces , type = Paramilitary , role = , size = ...

alongside 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 ...

Chilas Chilas ( ur, ) is a city and is the divisional capital of Diamer District located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, on the Indus River. It is part of the Silk Road connected by the Karakoram Highway and N-90 National Highway, which link it to Islam ...

in the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, or the First Kashmir War, was a war fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four Indo-Pakistani wars that was fought between t ...

Early career

He was educated at the Islamia College in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

and then the

Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College The Rashtriya Indian Military College (abbreviated RIMC; formerly known as Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College) is a military school for boys and girls situated in Doon Valley, Dehradun in India. The RIMC is a feeder institution for ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He passed the military entrance exam and went to the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on the Special List on 15 July 1936 and was attached to the 1st battalion The Kings Own Royal Regiment at Madras from 20 August 1936. He was later accepted for the Indian Army and joined the 5th battalion,

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After Partition of India, independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab Regiment, 8th Punja ...

on 20 August 1937, stationed at Peshawar on the North-West Frontier. His date of commission as a Second Lieutenant was antedated to 1 September 1935 and he was promoted Lieutenant on 1 December 1937. He was attached to the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

from 1939 to 1941 before he reverted to the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. He excelled at handling the signature biplanes of the time, the

Westland Wapiti The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service. First flying in 1927, the Wa ...

and the

Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

. He was transferred to the 2nd battalion,

. The battalion sailed from India for Singapore on 28 October 1940 and landed there on 11 November 1940. During the battle of Singapore in February 1942 he was a Lieutenant serving with "B" Company. He was taken prisoner of war at the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. After being taken prisoner of war he volunteered for the

. His brother was Major Mata-Ul-Mulk, Fateh-e-Skardu, Governor of Shoghore, born on Feb-10, 1918, got education from

, Dehradun. Commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant on 15-07,1938, he got promotion as Lieutenant on 28-11,1940. Served as Captain in World War II at Malaya & Singapore on 20-06,1941. He joined the

and got commissioned as the Reinforcement Commandant in the

Subhash Chandra bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperia ...

-led

on 15 February 1943, thus, after the surrender, he was made Prisoner of War and captured. He also headed Chitral Body Guard Force 1946 as Colonel. He was made Prisoner of War again and arrested and imprisoned in Peshawar during 1948-1950. Lived the rest of his life in his ancestral Fort at Shoghore near Garamchashma, and passed away on Feb-08,2002.

World War II

By 1944, Burhan-ud-Din was one of three IOC's of the Indian National Army. The Indian National Army was formed from Indian soldiers who were fighting for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

against the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese. They were captured by the Japanese and they were given a choice: Join the workers who were building the

Death Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

including

The Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, the pl ...

, or take up arms and fight against the British on the side of the Japanese. Burhan-ud-Din became one of the commanders of the group who opted not to build the Bridge Over the River Kwai. When

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

fell to the British on 3 May 1945, Burhan-ud-Din was captured the same day and placed under arrest. He was charged with a wartime atrocity. Many men under his command had often left their posts to go into Rangoon in search of women, often not to return for several days. Burhan-ud-Din, a deeply religious man, was offended by this practice, so he had five of his soldiers rounded up in Rangoon, brought back, and flogged as deserters. One of them, whose name was Joga Singh, died during the flogging. When the British captured the Indian National Army they were naturally anxious to put some of their leaders on trial. Burhan-ud-Din was ultimately tried in a

Military Court A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

– presided by then

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Kodandera M. Cariappa ' Field Marshal (India), Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa (28 January 1899 – 15 May 1993) was the first Indian Chief of the Army Staff (India), Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Army. He led Indian forces on the Western Fron ...

– later Commander in Chief Chief of the

. Cariappa's court sentenced Burhan to seven years rigorous imprisonment in 1946. Following pronouncement of his sentence it is said that Brigadier Cariappa, who was heading the military court, walked over and shook hands with Burhan-ud-Din. It was stated in the charge-sheet that Burhan-ud-Din had waged war against the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. Meanwhile, a bill containing the provisions of

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

Mountbattens plan of 3 June 1947, was introduced in the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

and passed as the

Indian Independence Act 1947 The Indian Independence Act 1947 947 CHAPTER 30 10 and 11 Geo 6is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 J ...

. The Act laid down detailed measures for the partition of

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 speedy transfer of political powers to the new governments of

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. This incident paved the way of release for the prisoners. Burhan and his co-convicts were released on 13 August 1947 and their sentences were nullified. After his release, he immediately returned to

Death

The circumstances of his death in 1996 are controversial. There is no agreement whether the gunshot wound which killed him in 1996 was an accident, self-inflicted or if somebody shot him.

New developments

The grandson of Burhan-ud-Din has won a suit before the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

and ordered hundreds of villagers to vacate a village in Chitral. The dispute over the land of Seen village between its residents and Burhan-ud-Din has been heard in various courts of law for the last 37 years and the apex courts has given its verdict in favour of the latter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burhan-ud-Din Indian National Army personnel Indian National Army trials People from Chitral District 1914 births 1996 deaths British Indian Army officers Indian Military Academy alumni Indian Army personnel of World War II Baloch Regiment officers Rashtriya Indian Military College alumni