| Muhammad Hamidullah Khan | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 11, 1938 Bikrampur, Bengal Province, British Empire |
| Died | December 30, 2011 (aged 73) Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Allegiance | People's Republic of Bangladesh |
| Service/branch | Bangladesh Air Force |
| Years of service | 1971–1978 |
| Rank | Wing Commander |
| Unit | Administration and Special Duties A&SD |
| Battles/wars | Bangladesh Liberation War Chilmari Landing Expedition Kurigram and Gaibandha Guerilla Campaigns Kodalkati and Kamalpur Assaults Tangail Area Ambushes and Raids |
M. Hamidullah Khan (Bengali: মহাম্মদ হামিদুল্লাহ খান) (September 11, 1938 – December 30, 2011) was the Sector Commander of BDF Sector 11 Bangladesh Forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan in 1971. [1]
An Air Force officer by career, he successfully led 22,800 troops under his command of Sector 11 (Nov. 2nd 1971 to Feb. 14 1972). He was one of the principal participants during the creation of the Bangladesh Forces in the historic Bangladesh Sector Commanders Conference 1971. He commanded Sector 11 with distinction and valor under the leadership of C-in-C General M.A.G. Osmani and was awarded by Bangladesh government for galantry. Popularly known as Hamidullah, he served in the Bangladesh Air Force until his early retirement from service in early 1979. The Bangladesh Government has bestowed his name on Road 23 in the posh residential cum commercial town of Banani in Dhaka.[2] Along with 55 other freedom activists, his biography was included in a CD released by Bangladesh government.[3] Currently he is the Executive Secretary of the Central Committee of the BNP National Executive Committee on Liberation War and Veterans Affairs.[4] M. Hamidullah Khan was nominated four times and elected thrice as Member of Parliament in the Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad. He authored one book and a revised edition, on the history of the creation of Bangladesh Forces and the events leading to it, BD Forces Sector 11 and its war operations including surrounding complexities, related events and consequences. His second book is a two volumes set also regarding Bangladesh Liberation War along with two documentaries.[5]
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M. Hamidullah Khan was born to a political family in Medini Mondal village, Louhajong Ward, in the town of Bikrampur, (known to be the oldest capital of Bengal before Bhawal and Sonargaon) southern Dhaka, in then Bengal Province of the colonial British Empire in South Asia. He is the second of the nine children (one deceased at infant age) born to Muhammad Dabiruddin Khan and Jasimunnesa Khan. His father, Muhammad Dabiruddin Khan, was a Forest Ranger in the British Imperial Forest Service under the Bengal Forest Department and later Assam Forest Department in South Asia.[6] Hamidullah Khan's childhood was divided between living in the rural town of Bikrampur, Dhaka, and the city proper. After primary school at Silver Jubilee Anglo-Bengali Government English School, Guwahati, Assam, and secondary school at Kazir Pagla A.T Institute, he moved out with his parents and settled in Mughaltully Ward of Dhaka located by the Buriganga River in 1954. With the departure of the British and official creation of Pakistan and India in 1947, Hamidullah Khan's father opted for service with government of India instead of Pakistan. Though the family remained in Dhaka (East Pakistan), Dabiruddin Khan later joined them after retirement in 1957. As Hamidullah's mother Jasminessa was burdened with raising 8 children by herself and managing the entire household, leadership and management was a trait Hamidullah encountered with at an early age. Hamidullah spent his adolescent years in southern Dhaka until he joined the Pakistan Air Force. After Bangladesh became independent in 1971, Hamidullah continued service with the Bangladesh Air Force and remaining family members permanently resettled in "Bikrampur House", Dhaka Cantonment.. Hamidullah Khan married Rabeya Sultana Khan on August 1, 1965, third daughter of Mokbul Hossain Siddiqi, then Commissioner(East Pakistan) of Taxes and Excise . They have two sons, Tariq Hamid Khan (Konny), Ziad Hamid Khan (Ronny-deceased), and Murad Hamid Khan (Sonny).
Hamidullah spent his adolescent years in Dhaka and enrolled in the Jagannath College there in 1954. After completion of senior secondary school in 1956, he pursued his academics at the same college for the Bachelor of Arts in Commerce (General). In the year 1959, while preparations were finalised to study law, Hamidullah Khan accepted an appointment instead as a candidate in the Pakistan Air Force Academy, and reported to Risalpur as a Flight Cadet.
Pakistan Air Force - M. Hamidullah Khan was Commissioned a Pilot Officer in June 1962 in Administration and Special Duties (Br.). He served in the PAF at bases in Lahore, Peshawar, Chaklala, Sargodha, Karachi, and finally Dhaka, then part of East Pakistan. In late autumn of 1970, his last assignment in the PAF, Flight Lieutenant Hamidullah was transferred to Pakistan Eastern Zone as Assistant Provost Marshal and Commanding Officer No 5. P and S Unit(Independent) with additional responsibility as Director of Security, Tejgaon International Airport, Dhaka. He was selected for promotion to Squadron Leader in December 1970. As fate chose an unknown direction, his promotion came under an entirely different reality. In the month of June, during the Bangladesh war of independence, Hamidullah Khan was awarded a Battlefield Promotion by order of the BDF C-in-C General M.A.G. Osmani, while serving as sub-Sector Commander, BDF Sector 11. Three years after independence Hamidullah khan received his final promotion to the rank of Wing Commander. He retired in 1978 and while in LPR joined the Bangladesh Nationalist Party answering the call to public service from his war colleague Ziaur Rahman.
Ministry of Defence - Bangladesh Air Force Directorates served in were Bangladesh Air Force, Headquarters, Dhaka Cantonment; Intelligence and Security; Air Education and Training. Also held the position of Chief of Air Force Security(Provost Marshall) and Director Air Intelligence.
After retirement from military service he continued on with public service in the legislative branch of Bangladesh government. He was elected Member of Parliament from
Represented Bangladesh during the 36th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. He served in different positions in Bangladesh Government throughout his active life. Hamidullah served as chairman of Bangladesh Post Graduate Medical Research Centre (1979–1982), Bangladesh Freedom Fighters Welfare Trust (1993–1996), Janata Bank (1995–1996). Hamidullah Khan reemerged from long absence from parliamentary politics and received nomination for the electoral seat of Dhaka-15 (Mirpur and Kafrul) for the 9th Parliamentary General Elections held on Dec 29th 2008.[7]
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