Brigadier Mahmudur Rahman Mazumdar
Munir Quddus | Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Munir Quddus
On Monday, December 19, 2011, at approximately 8 pm Bangladesh time, just a few days shy of his 90th birthday, Brigadier M. R. Mazumdar passed away in the Combined Medical Hospital (CMH) Dhaka. (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.) Born in 1921 in Zakiganj, Sylhet, after completing his bachelor degree, he joined the Pakistan army as a captain in the 1950's. The late Sajjad Ali Mazumdar, a well-known civil servant and father-in-law of Barrister Mainul Hosein (The Daily Ittefaq) was Brig. Mazumdar's elder brother. Soon after his wedding in 1956, he miraculously survived a serious accident during field exercises resulting in burns on his face and body. In 1965, he saw action in the Sailkot sector during the India-Pakistan war. He distinguished himself in the army, and was promoted rapidly. Brig. Mazumdar was a consummate soldier and a natural leader of man with a sharp intellect. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in the army in 1969, the senior-most Bengali officer in the Pakistan army at the time. In the days leading to the declaration of Independence and the liberation war, as the Station Commander of Chittagong cantonement, he was in an important position under the then rule by the Chief Martial Law Administrator. According to his testimony, he was in regular contact with General Osmani and Bangabandhu (through intermediaries) regarding the fast-moving events in the early days of 1971. Both (at the time, Major) Ziaur Rahman and (at the time, Lt. Colonel) H. M. Ershad were at times posted under him. When the Pakistan army high command discovered that he was resisting their plans to unload arms shipment, the army moved to remove him before March 25 and took him away first to Dhaka and later to the then West Pakistan where he was imprisoned and brutally tortured. After Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned to Bangladesh, Brig. Mazumdar was released from the prison, and came home to join his family. Later he served in the government, first as the Chairman of the BFIDC and later as the Secretary, Project Implementation Bureau, Government of Bangladesh. He was also elected to the parliament from Sylhet for a term. Even after retiring from public life, he was considered by many as a mentor and elder statesman and received senior army officers and politicians in his home. In the last 20 years of his life, Brig. Mazumdar devoted himself to his family, and was especially devoted to his wife, four sons, and the grandchildren. He completed Hajj and Umra on a number of occasions. After janaza prayers in the Shishu Polli mosque in Shamoli, Dhaka, his body would be taken to Sylhet for burial in his ancestral village near his father's grave. He was a charismatic leader, generous to a fault, a brave soldier, a patriot and a God-fearing man, who played an important role in the historical events of his times. He will be fondly remembered by a legion of family members, friends and well wishers. The writer, Dr. Munir Quddus, is a professor of economics and dean of a Business School in Texas, the USA. Brig. Mazumdar (retired) was his mother's maternal uncle. The writer can be reached at e-mail: muquddus@pvamu.edu
On Monday, December 19, 2011, at approximately 8 pm Bangladesh time, just a few days shy of his 90th birthday, Brigadier M. R. Mazumdar passed away in the Combined Medical Hospital (CMH) Dhaka. (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.) Born in 1921 in Zakiganj, Sylhet, after completing his bachelor degree, he joined the Pakistan army as a captain in the 1950's. The late Sajjad Ali Mazumdar, a well-known civil servant and father-in-law of Barrister Mainul Hosein (The Daily Ittefaq) was Brig. Mazumdar's elder brother. Soon after his wedding in 1956, he miraculously survived a serious accident during field exercises resulting in burns on his face and body. In 1965, he saw action in the Sailkot sector during the India-Pakistan war. He distinguished himself in the army, and was promoted rapidly. Brig. Mazumdar was a consummate soldier and a natural leader of man with a sharp intellect. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in the army in 1969, the senior-most Bengali officer in the Pakistan army at the time. In the days leading to the declaration of Independence and the liberation war, as the Station Commander of Chittagong cantonement, he was in an important position under the then rule by the Chief Martial Law Administrator. According to his testimony, he was in regular contact with General Osmani and Bangabandhu (through intermediaries) regarding the fast-moving events in the early days of 1971. Both (at the time, Major) Ziaur Rahman and (at the time, Lt. Colonel) H. M. Ershad were at times posted under him. When the Pakistan army high command discovered that he was resisting their plans to unload arms shipment, the army moved to remove him before March 25 and took him away first to Dhaka and later to the then West Pakistan where he was imprisoned and brutally tortured. After Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned to Bangladesh, Brig. Mazumdar was released from the prison, and came home to join his family. Later he served in the government, first as the Chairman of the BFIDC and later as the Secretary, Project Implementation Bureau, Government of Bangladesh. He was also elected to the parliament from Sylhet for a term. Even after retiring from public life, he was considered by many as a mentor and elder statesman and received senior army officers and politicians in his home. In the last 20 years of his life, Brig. Mazumdar devoted himself to his family, and was especially devoted to his wife, four sons, and the grandchildren. He completed Hajj and Umra on a number of occasions. After janaza prayers in the Shishu Polli mosque in Shamoli, Dhaka, his body would be taken to Sylhet for burial in his ancestral village near his father's grave. He was a charismatic leader, generous to a fault, a brave soldier, a patriot and a God-fearing man, who played an important role in the historical events of his times. He will be fondly remembered by a legion of family members, friends and well wishers. The writer, Dr. Munir Quddus, is a professor of economics and dean of a Business School in Texas, the USA. Brig. Mazumdar (retired) was his mother's maternal uncle. The writer can be reached at e-mail: muquddus@pvamu.edu