1948's Freedom Fighter
Freedom
Fighter Major A Ghani of 1948
Lt. Col. Mohammad Abdul Haque, psc (retd.)
20 Sep
2022, 18:11, Update: 11 Jul 2022, 06:36
(Naya Diganta)
1. Without the army, Bangladesh would not have been able to emerge as an independent country; Major Mohammad Abdul Gani was one of the initiators of the army which hoisted the red-green flag of the country all over the world, brought us all the unique heroic stories of honor and glory. In his long life of only 42 years, he has been forever immortalized in the pages of history by showing the extreme pinnacle of responsibility towards the country and the nation. He appeared at a time when the people of Bengal were very neglected; The standard of living of the people was very poor, who had access to education, trade and commerce, government jobs. Long before the establishment of Pakistan, some brave Bengali Muslim military officers serving in the British Indian Army for the neglected Muslims of Bengal and Assam had adopted various strategies to realize the rights of the neglected people of this land and to increase their participation in the army. Major Abdul Gani is one of these brave sons of the sun. He is popularly known as 'Banga Shardul' and 'Tiger Gani' as the founder or father of the East Bengal Regiment.
2. Before 1947, there were
military regiments in the then British-Indian army with people of all major
ethnic groups in the name of their nation or area. But there was no regiment of
the helpless, neglected Bengali nation. Some Bengali regiments were formed with
Bengali Muslims for the needs of the World War, but they were disbanded at the
end of the Great War. Besides, Bengalis joined different regiments and
participated in the First and Second World Wars and many other local wars.
Major Abdul Gani (1915-1957) was one of the commissioned officers along with a
significant number of Bengali soldiers who participated in the Second World
War. Although this effort did not see the light of day during the British rule,
his dream was realized at the beginning of the establishment of Pakistan. That
is, the first battalion-1 'East Bengal' of the East Bengal Regiment was
established. ’
3. Mohammad Abdul Gani was born on 1 December 1915 in a middle-class aristocratic Muslim family at village Nagish in Brahmanpara upazila of Comilla district. His father Mohammad Sarafat Ali was a farmer and mother Jobeda Khatun was an ideal housewife. Two and a half years after his birth, his loving mother died. He was survived by his half-brother Md. Siddiqur Rahman, two brothers and two sisters. As a member of a traditional Muslim family, he spent his childhood and adolescence in Islamic culture and lifestyle. According to the family tradition, he was admitted to the madrasa. At the beginning of his life, he got the opportunity to acquire knowledge on the Holy Qur'an and Hadith, which was reflected in every work for the rest of his life. After studying at the local Shidlai Junior Madrasa, he was admitted to Islamia High Madrasa in Chittagong. In addition to studying, he participated in various sports and competitions. With the students of Islamia High Madrasa in Chittagong, he formed a social service society named 'Sabuj Korta' in imitation of the 'Hilful Fuzul' of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). The Green Korta volunteer force attracted the attention of people from all sections of the society in a short span of time. In December 1933, he achieved the distinction of becoming the individual champion in the parade of the green court under the leadership of MA Gani in the inter-district sports competition in Chittagong. The Divisional Commissioner highly appreciated and rewarded his organizational activities.
4. Ghani's student life was
spent through financial constraints. But seeing his amiable behavior, humility,
politeness, modesty, etiquette, bravery, social service, philanthropy
character, Hamid Hasan Nomani, the sub-divisional administrator of Chittagong,
who was a non-Bengali and a very high level humanitarian personality, came
forward during financial constraints. He sympathized with Gani and gave him the
opportunity to develop his talent. He admitted Gani to Chittagong Muslim High
School with his son and arranged for him to be maintained in his own house.
When Mr. Nomani was transferred to Khulna district, Gani was also admitted to
Khulna Zilla School. He passed the Entrance Examination from this school in
1936. Then he got admitted to Calcutta Islamia College and there he also had a
financial crisis. In this situation, his uncle doctor Sobhan came forward to
help his nephew. After passing IA in 1938 and BA in 1940 from Islamia College,
he was appointed as an officer in the Calcutta Fire Brigade.
5. In 1941, when the drums of
the Second World War broke out, MA Gani could not sit still. He applied to join
the British Indian Army as a commissioned officer and after passing the
examination, he was commissioned into the Indian Pioneer Corps in January 1942.
From the very beginning, Ghani was a very dutiful, devoted, hardworking,
fearless, modest, tactful and active officer, which attracted the attention of
senior British officers and became a favorite. At the end of 1942 he was
promoted to lieutenant. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1943. At that
time, he was sent to Arakan in Myanmar to conduct operations against the
Japanese invading forces. At one point in the war, thousands of soldiers were
besieged by the Japanese. Due to the remote mountainous terrain, it was very
difficult to send them food from the main force. Finally, a large force of 1200
trapped soldiers led by Captain Abdul Gani came out of the resistance by
cutting the tunnel through the rocky mountain. Seeing the bravery and heroic
role of the Bengali Muslim soldiers in this dangerous time, Captain Gani was
greatly inspired to form a Bengali regiment with them.
6. After the end of the Great
War, Captain Ghani was transferred to the Corps Center in Jhalana, India in
1946. From this time his thinking started working on how to form a regiment
with Bengali Muslims. During this time, he served in the army in Visakhapatnam,
Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Mumbai in the Deccan, which served as a major
experience in his life. Here he also served as commander of two Pioneer
Companies 1256 and 1407. After the partition of India in 1947, British General
Meservi was appointed Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army. He already knew
Captain Gani for his heroic role in the Great War. He wrote a letter to General
Sir Meservy requesting him to form a regiment of Bengali Muslims. Along with
this letter, he also submitted a 20-page memorandum presenting all the facts
and arguments. Meservi took this proposal very seriously and replied to it,
"I hope you will be able to show the world that the Bengali Muslim
soldiers are no less than other soldiers. Commander of the Core Center of
Jhalna. Colonel Marietti advised and encouraged Captain Gani regarding the
formation of the Bengali Regiment. It is to be noted that under Captain Ghani,
1256 and 1407 Pioneer Companies were composed of Bengali Muslims, so it was
decided to give them to the East Pakistan Army. As a result, in 1947, two
companies under the leadership of Captain Gani were brought from Mumbai to
Dhaka by special trains.
7. After coming to Dhaka,
Captain Gani started vigorous efforts to form a Bengali regiment. Finally, the
long-awaited life of the Bengali Muslims of Bengal, the lifelong cherished
dream of Captain Gani began to materialize. At the very beginning of the birth
of Pakistan, the government decided to raise a regiment for the Bengali Muslims
as per the wishes of Captain Ghani and many others, which was named 'East
Bengal Regiment'. With the efforts of Captain Gani and other officers, all
preparations for the formation of the first East Bengal were finalized within
five months. In early February 1948, British Army officer Lt. Colonel V. J. E.
Patterson was appointed as the commander of the first East Bengal. Finally, on
February 15, 1948, the much-awaited Mahendrakshan of Bengali Muslims arrived in
Kurmitola, Dhaka. On this historic day, the 1st Battalion-1 East Bengal of the
East Bengal Regiment was established. The then Governor of East Pakistan, Sir
Frederick Braborne, Chief Minister Khawaja Nazimuddin, all important members of
the cabinet, Deputy Regional Commander Brigadier Ayub Khan, all high military
and civil officials were present on the occasion. It was the beginning of the
glorious history of the Bengalis and the golden opportunity to prove it as a
martial race. The 200-year gloom has been erased. Through this, the seeds were
sown by the heroic fighters of the liberation war of Bangladesh. The
'Bangashardul' force started its journey inspired by the ideology of 'Soumya,
Shakti and Agility'. Who knew that this regiment would one day lead the
liberation war of Bangladesh!
8. An unexpected incident
unfolds in the tea cycle of the event. Brigadier Ayub Khan said, "From now
onwords Bengali Soldiers will speak in Urdu, not in Bengali." 'Sit down,'
the captain said and stopped Gani. For this audacious role, he has been
referred to as 'Tiger Ghani' since then. Examples of such outspokenness are
rare these days. The significant thing is that the Language Movement actually
started on February 15, 1948 and Major Gani is the great hero of this invisible
movement. Since this incident, Captain Ghani's position in the army has been
shaky. Despite being a smart officer, he was not being promoted. From East
Bengal, he was transferred to Pakistan National Guard, Dinajpur. Finally, he
was transferred to 14 Division Headquarters, Dhaka. At the end of 1953, due to
lack of proper evaluation and promotion, he submitted his resignation letter
citing health reasons in anger, anger and sorrow. The resignation was accepted
and he was retired. Retired Captain Gani was promoted to the rank of 'Major' in
recognition of his outstanding contributions.
9. Political life: Major
Gani's new life begins. He got into politics to use himself for the greater
interest of the country and the nation without wasting time unnecessarily. He
was well educated with a combination of Islamic and modern education. He could
speak fluently in Arabic, English and Urdu. Many people became his devotees
after listening to the Qur'an-Hadith. He emerged as an emerging leader in the
political leadership. On 22 March 1954, he contested the provincial assembly
election as an independent candidate and was elected by a huge margin. His
thoughts on society and the state were very far-reaching. His overall efforts
were to establish the welfare of the country and the nation, equality, justice
and justice, development of the character of the people, arrange for the
livelihood of the people and call the people to the truth and beauty. He placed
several demands before the government for the welfare of the country and the
nation. For example, the establishment of a cadet college for the youth of East
Pakistan to join the country's defense forces as commissioned officers; To
provide military training to the youth of the whole country. In the Parliament
of East Pakistan, he used to raise the issue of soil and people in a very
logical way in fiery language. His speech was so pleasant and interesting that
every member and speaker listened to it attentively. The welfare of the people
was his life's vow. Islamic way of life is the only way to get rid of human
exploitation, oppression and oppression. Therefore, he also took the initiative
to form a real Islamic party which was named 'Islam League'. Before he could
implement this dream, he left the world. Despite being a junior officer in the
army at just 12 years, he created a bright and rare example of pure patriotism
by achieving the impossible. Despite being a politician, what he has done for
the people in a very short time may not be compared to the second in history.
10. On 29, 30 and 31 October
1957, he went to Berlin, Germany to attend a three-day conference organized by
the World Veterans Federation as a representative of Pakistan. At this
conference, he gave the most stimulating, exciting and incendiary speech of his
life. At one stage, he suffered a sudden heart attack and left the world on
November 11, 1957 and went to the great Creator. After his body was brought to
the country, he was buried with proper military honours at Mainamati Cantonment
in Comilla. Major Gani left, but the East Bengal Regiment he created remained.
This fearless hero, military officer and political figure lived in this mortal
world for only 42 years.
লেখক
: সামরিক ইতিহাস ও নিরাপত্তা বিশ্লেষক
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