Bot at 13:04, 25 November 2022

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{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Kazi Nuruzzaman
| honorific_suffix = [[Bir Uttom]]
| image = Nuruzzaman.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1925|03|24}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2011|5|6|1925|3|24}}
| death_place =
| placeofburial = National Freedom Fighters’ Graveyard
| birth_name =
| allegiance = {{flag|Pakistan}} (before 1971)<br />{{flag|Bangladesh}}
| branch = {{plainlist|
* {{army|Pakistan}}
* {{army|Bangladesh}}
}}
| serviceyears =
| rank = [[File:Bangladesh-army-OF-4.svg|20 px]] [[Lieutenant colonel]]
| unit = [[East Bengal Regiment]]
| commands = [[List of sectors in the Bangladesh Liberation War|Sector Commander]] of the [[Mukti Bahini]]
| battles = [[Bangladesh Liberation War]]
| other_names =
| known_for =
| occupation =
}}
'''Kazi Nuruzzaman''' [[Bir Uttom]] (24 March 1925 – 6 May 2011)<ref>[http://www.unbconnect.com/component/news/task-show/id-46995 UNBconnect... - PM shocked at death of Kazi Nuruzzaman] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323134738/http://www.unbconnect.com/component/news/task-show/id-46995 |date=23 March 2012 }}</ref> was a Bangladeshi [[war hero]] and secular [[Bangladeshi nationalism|nationalist]], who served as one of the principal commanders of the [[Mukti Bahini]] during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]]. He also rejected Bir Uttam Award as a tribute to all the unknown, unrecognized martyrs of the war. <ref>https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2011/05/07/tributes-to-nuruzzaman</ref>

==Early life==
Nuruzzaman was born on 24 March 1925.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Nuruzzaman,_Lt_Colonel_Kazi|title=Nuruzzaman, Lt Colonel Kazi |website=Banglapedia|access-date=2016-12-29}}</ref> He received his education from the exclusive [[St. Xavier's College, Calcutta]] majoring in chemistry.<ref>{{cite news |last=Urmee |first=Farhana |date=5 November 2010 |title=A Citizen Soldier |url=https://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2010/11/01/profile.htm |work=Star Weekend Magazine |publisher=The Daily Star}}</ref>

== Career ==
He joined the British Indian Navy in 1943 but due to [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]'s persuasion, he transferred to the [[British Indian Army|army]] in 1946 and completed his training from [[Royal School of Artillery]] in UK.{{citation needed|date= October 2022}} After [[partition of India]] in 1947 he joined Pakistan army & was promoted to Major in 1954. Before retiring from the armed forces he served at East Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation.{{citation needed|date= October 2022}}

Since he was a Bengali in the Pakistan Army, he was subject to racial discrimination. He did not sacrifice his dignity, and one such example was his comment against [[Ayub Khan (Field Marshal)|Ayub Khan]].{{citation needed|date= October 2022}}

{{blockquote|Only people from good families can recognise other people from good ones| said Quazi Nuruzzaman when Ayub Khan said that he did not see people from good families in East Pakistan.}}In October 1958 after General Ayub Khan declared Martial Law in Pakistan, he & Major Salauddin Amin were the only two officers who refused to sign a document of allegiance pledging loyalty to then President of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-232857|title=Lieutenant Colonel Quazi Nuruzzaman: A remembrance|date=2012-05-06|newspaper=The Daily Star|access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref>

==Bangladesh Liberation War==

In 1971, he joined the Liberation War. He was senior to all the sector commanders & was given staff position by [[Commander-in-chief|C-in-C]] [[M. A. G. Osmani|Osmani]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/op-ed/politics/the-love-blind-freedom-fighters-5323|title=The love-blind freedom fighters|date=2015-03-06|newspaper=The Daily Star|access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref>

During the war, Bangladesh was divided into eleven sectors and each of those sectors had a Sector Commander who would direct the guerrilla warfare. He succeeded [[Major]] [[Nazmul Huq|Najmul Haque]] as [[List of sectors in the Bangladesh Liberation War|Commander of Sector 7]] who died in a road crash on September 27, 1971, in India.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2011/05/06/sector-commander-nuruzzaman-dies|title=Sector commander Nuruzzaman dies|newspaper=bdnews24.com|access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref> He played a key role in Bangladesh's achieving independence from Pakistan during the 1971 war.

Post war he was tasked with gathering injured freedom fighters from [[Kolkata]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

== Award ==
He was awarded the [[Bir Uttom]] award, which is the second-highest award for individual gallantry in Bangladesh.<ref>https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-232857</ref> As thousands of [[Mukti Bahini]] volunteers, mostly farmers, were killed and did not receive any recognition, he chose not to accept any gallantry award. He rejected the [[Bir Uttom]] award. <ref>https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-232857</ref> <ref>https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2011/05/07/tributes-to-nuruzzaman</ref> <ref>https://pdfcoffee.com/muktibahini-wins-victory-maj-gen-atm-abdul-wahab-365p-pdf-free.html</ref>

== Death ==
Nuruzzaman died of old age at Square Hospital on 6 May 2011. He was buried at National Freedom Fighters’ Graveyard at Dhaka Cantonment.<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Military of Bangladesh}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuruzzaman, Quazi}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi lieutenant colonels]]
[[Category:People from Jessore District]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Mukti Bahini personnel]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Bir Uttom]]

{{Bangladesh-bio-stub}}

Kazi Nuruzzaman - Revision history

Bot at 13:04, 25 November 2022