Abdul Wahed Chowdhury is a one-star retired officer of the

Bangladesh Navy The Bangladesh Navy () is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for the defence of Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area from any external threat, the security of sea ports and exclusive economic zones of Ban ...

and a veteran of the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

, notable for leading

Operation Jackpot Operation Jackpot () was a codename for three operations undertaken by the Mukti Bahini in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) against Pakistan forces at the climax of the Bangladesh War of Independence. After the Pakistani Army drove the Bengal ...

. He was awarded

Bir Uttam Bir Uttom () is the second highest award for individual gallantry in Bangladesh after the Bir Sreshtho and the highest gallantry award for living individual. Since the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, 69 people have been awarded the Bir Utto ...

, the highest living military award in Bangladesh, for his contributions during the war.

Career

At the outbreak of war, Chowdhury was one of eight Bengali officers of the Pakistan Navy training in Paris. He was serving in

PNS Mangro PNS may refer to: Medicine * Peripheral nervous system * Parasympathetic nervous system, rarely used, usually abbreviated as "PSNS" to avoid confusion with peripheral nervous system * Peripheral nerve stimulation of the occipital nerves * Paran ...

. They had decided to defect after being inspired by the

7th March speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman The 7th March Speech of Mujib, or the 7/3 Speech (), was a public speech given by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh on 7 March 1971 at the Ramna Race Course (now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka to a gathering of over one milli ...

and hearing about the start of

Operation Searchlight Operation Searchlight was a 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 operation on the basis of ant ...

. They went to India and trained under the Indian Navy in the Jamuna River near New Delhi. More defectors from the Pakistan Navy and 150 student volunteers joined them. After training, they were divided into groups and sent to

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

, Daudkandi,

Narayanganj Narayanganj () is a city in central Bangladesh in the Greater Dhaka area. It is in the Narayanganj District, about southeast of the capital city of Dhaka. With a population of almost 1 million, it is the 6th largest city in Bangladesh. It is als ...

, and Mongla. Chowdhury was sent to lead the Chittagong Group with 60 members. He

. His group destroyed seven ships during the war, including MV Al-Abbas and MV Ohrmazd, cargo ships of the Pakistan military. Later, the sector was commanded by Commander MN Sumanta of the Indian Navy. He served with Faruk E Azam. Chowdhury represented Bangladesh in the 1995 South East Asia Symposium. He retired from Bangladesh Navy in January 1997. He expressed support for the Awami League ahead of the 2018 general election. In January 2025, Chowdhury delivered a lecture at the National Defence College. ''Bir Uttam A. W. Chowdhury Road'' was named after Chowhdury.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, AW Bangladesh Navy personnel Bangladesh Navy commodores Mukti Bahini personnel Bangladesh Liberation War Pakistan Navy officers