Muhammed Ishfakul Majid (17 March 1903 – 31 March 1976) was the first Sylheti general in 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 ...

Personal

He was born on 17 March 1903 in

Jorhat Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...

, Assam, British India. He is the son of Abdul Majid, the first Muslim who served as a Justice in the Bengal High Court. He completed his undergraduate in

Cotton College, Guwahati Cotton University (formerly known as ''Cotton College'') is a public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established in 2017 by the provisions of an Act from the Assam Legislative Assembly which merged Cotton College Sta ...

, Assam. On 2 February 1922 he joined the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was the first Bengali Muslim to graduate from Sandhurst.

Military career (Indian Army)

Ishfakul Majid joined the Royal Military College, Sandhurst on 2 February 1922. He was commissioned on 27 August 1924 on the Unattached List for the Indian Army. After his commission, Ishfakul Majid was attached with the second battalion of Lincolnshire Regiment of the British Army for one year. On 31 October 1925 he was accepted for 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 ...

, being posted to the 4th Battalion 19th Hyderabad Regiment. He was promoted Lieutenant 27 November 1926, Captain 27 August 1933 and Major 1 December 1941. He served in Burma and

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

during the Second World War attached to the Assam Regiment.

Military career (Pakistan Army)

In 1947, Majid joined the

. In Pakistan Army he was promoted to the rank of Major General. He became the GOC of the 9 Division of the

. Majid was senior to

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

but Ayub Khan became the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army bypassing hm. Majid was named in the

Rawalpindi conspiracy The Rawalpindi Conspiracy (also known as the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case) was an attempted ''coup d'état'' against the governments of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, in 1951. The conspiracy was the first of many subsequen ...

but later he was proved innocent.

Bangladesh

He returned to East Pakistan in 1962. Major General Majid and Colonel

M. A. G. Osmani Muhammad Ataul Goni Osmani ( bn, মুহাম্মদ আতাউল গণি ওসমানী; 1 September 1918 – 16 February 1984), also known as ''Bangabir'' (the Hero of Bengal), was a Bengali military leader. Osmani's career ...

met with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in March 1971 on behalf of retired Bengali soldiers and showed their loyalty towards an independent Bangladesh. Majid was later arrested by the Pakistan Army. He was tortured in custody.

Death

He died on 31 March 1976 in Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh.http://www.amadershomoy2.com/content/2013/03/31/middle0272.htm>

Sources

* London Gazette (various dates) * Indian Army List (various dates) * The History Of The Assam Regiment Vol-I (Captain Peter Steyn)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Majid, Major General Ishfakul British Indian Army officers Pakistani generals Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Bangladeshi military personnel 1903 births 1976 deaths