Muhammed Akbar Khan
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(PA-1) Muhammed Akbar Khan served as a British Indian recruit in the First and an officer in Second World War. He was the first Indian and the first Muslim to become a General in British Indian Army. He was the senior-most Muslim General at the time of partition of India and hence was assigned Pakistan Army number One. He also served as the first ADC of the Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammed Ali Jinnah.
Muhammed Akbar Khan belonged to the famous Mair Minhas Rajput tribe of Chakwal known for its martial traditions. He was the eldest child of Khan Bahadur Raja Fazaldad Khan. He had joined the British Army as a recruit during the First World War. However, due to his gallantry in the War, he was offered a commission and hence became the first Indian to receive a commission and become an officer in the British Indian Army.
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[edit] Battle of Dunkirk
In the World War II he was awarded the Order of the British Empire due to his exemplary leadership in battle of Dunkirk where he was able to lead his battalion safely out of a disastrous situation. Consequently, he became the first Indian Muslim to be promoted to the post of a General in the British Indian Army.
[edit] Pakistan's First General
After Independence he was allotted the number one by the Pakistan Army and hence he is regarded as the senior-most officer of the Pakistan Army. He wrote many books on military strategy and Art of War. He also has the honour of being the first ADC to Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammed Ali Jinnah.
As the senior-most General of the Pakistan Army, he was destined to become the first Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Army. However, he declined the post. Hassan Abbas in his book, Pakistan's Drift into Extremism writes, "In the entire history of Pakistan army, perhaps there has been only one incident in which a general repeated what George Washington had so willingly done for his nation some 215 years back. Toward the end of 1949, as General Gracey’s term of office neared its end, he tapped Major General Akbar Khan, the senior-most Pakistani officer, to take over. General Akbar refused the office on the grounds that the job was beyond his competence - an admission never made by any Pakistani army officer again, though many were eminently qualified to make it." His brother General Iftikhar Khan was thus tapped to become the C-in-C of the Pakistan Army, but he unfortunately died in an aircrash, making way for Field Marshal Ayub Khan to become the C-in-C.
General Akbar was the eldest of amongst his 14 siblings; His brothers were General Iftikhar Khan (PA-2), General Anwar Khan (PA-48), Brig Muhammad Zafar Khan, Brig Afzal, Brig Yousaf.
[edit] Disambiguation
P.A.1 General Muhammed Akbar Khan is often confused with Major General Akbar Khan DSO of Rawalpindi conspiracy case and probably that is why Muhammed Akbar Khan used Akbar Khan Rangroot (recruit) to distinguish himself from the other Major General Akbar.
[edit] References
- Pakistan's Drift into Extremism, Hassan Abbas, 2005
- Pakistani Generals, A. K Anwar, 1992
- Akbar Khan, a biography, Khaled Akbar, 2006
