CHATTOGRAM, Mar 12: Faujdarhat Cadet College, the first cadet college in the then East Pakistan and present Bangladesh, has been nominated for the country's highest civilian honor, the 'Independence Award' (Swadhinata Padak) in 2026. With this, its students, for the first time in 54 years, have received formal state recognition for their outstanding contribution to the 1971 Liberation War.
On March 26, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will present the award to the college authorities along with other individuals and organisations that have been nominated this year.
In 1971, a total of 50 students of Faujdarhat Cadet College were freedom fighters, who directly participated in the war. Of them, 11 have been awarded titles, and eight have been martyred. The martyrs are Major M A Khalek (1st batch), Captain A K M Nurul Absar (2nd batch), Mosharraf Hossain (3rd batch), Lt Mohammad Anwar Hossain, Bir Uttam (7th batch), Md Badiul Alam, Bir Bikram (7th batch), Captain Shamsul Huda (7th batch), Mufti Mohammad Kased (7th batch), and 2nd Lt Rafiq A Sarkar (10th batch).
For heroic contribution in 1971, the Bir Uttam Medal was awarded to Lt Mohammad Anwar Hossain (7th batch). The Bir Bikram Medal was awarded to Md Badiul Alam (7th batch), Nasim (5th batch), Lt General Abu Saleh Mohammad Kamrul Haque Swapan (7th batch), and Maj General Imam Uz Zaman (10th batch).
Besides, Colonel Abu Taher Salah Uddin (4th batch), Major Rawshan Yazdani Bhuiyan (6th batch), Maj Gen Sayeed Ahmed (8th batch), Maj Gen Syed Muhammad Ibrahim (9th batch), Lt Col Kazi Sajjad Ali Zahir (10th batch), and Captain Md Humayun Kabir Chowdhury (10th batch) received the Bir Pratik Medal.
Meherual Karim, an old Faujian and CEO of KSRM Group said, "We are very happy that our college is getting the prestigious Swadhinata Padak this year. A number of its students have secured important posts of the country and they are doing so now."
Faujdarhat Cadet College was inaugurated on 28 April 1958. William Maurice Brown of New Zealand was the founder and the first principal of this college. Its total area is 185 acres. It is partially financed by Bangladesh Army.
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