Khondkar Nazmul Huda (6 July 1938 – 7 November 1975) was a veteran of the Bangladesh Liberation War. The Bangladesh government awarded him the title of

Bir Bikrom Bir Bikrom () is the third highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. Like the other gallantry awards, this was introduced immediately after the Bangladeshi Liberation War. Bir Bikrom was awarded to 175 fighters. Recipients 175 fighters have been a ...

for his bravery in the war of independence.

Early life

Huda's ancestral home is in Kodalia village of Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur district. His father's name was Khandaker Moazzem Hossain and his mother's name was Badrun Nesha Khatun. His wife's name is Nilufar Huda. They have one son Ehtesham Huda and one daughter Naheed Ezaher Khan, who was elected as a member of parliament of Bangladesh Awami League from the reserved women's seat in the 11th National Assembly in 2019.

Career

Huda was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers in the Pakistan Army in 1963. For some time in 1964-65 he worked as a platoon leader under Lt. General

Javed Nasir Javed Nasir (; 22 December 1936 – 16 October 2024) was a Pakistani military officer who served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), appointed on 14 March 1992 until 13 May 1993. Known for being member of Tablighi ...

as company commander. On January 3, 1968, he was arrested along with many others as accused in the

Agartala Conspiracy Case The Agartala Conspiracy Case was a sedition case in Pakistan during the rule of Ayub Khan (general), Ayub Khan against Awami League, brought by the government of Pakistan in 1968 against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then leader of the Awami Lea ...

. He was the 26th accused. In 1969, he was acquitted along with

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

. But was dismissed. When the Bangladesh Liberation War started, he jumped into this war. He was then included in the Bangladesh Army as a major of the East Bengal Regiment. After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, he was killed along with Khaled Musharraf and ATM Haider in the November coup.

Liberation war

Barni BOP of Chaugachha upazila in Jessore district was a base of an under-strength company of the Pakistan Army's

33rd Punjabis The 33rd Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the Allahabad Levy. It was designated as the 33rd Punjabis in 1903 and became 3rd Battalion 16th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to ...

. There were about 75 Pakistani soldiers with 3 3-inch Mortars. Due to that base, the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

personnel could not operate in the area. In early August, Khandaker Nazmul Huda decided to attack. On 5 August 1971 two companies of freedom fighters, led by a platoon of the 1st East Bengal Regiment under his leadership attacked the base. The Pakistan Army retreated from the camp leaving behind 15 bodies. The Pakistan Army launched a counterattack and Huda had to defend the taken base. Huda was the sub-sector commander of Boyra of Sector 8. A number of battles took place in the sub-sector. On 20–21 November, a fierce battle took place with the Pakistani forces at Garibpur in Chougachha. Besides, the Mukti Bahini carried out numerous ambush, demolition and surprise attacks.

Death and legacy

Huda was killed in the

7 November 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

, he had the rank of colonel in the

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...

. In May 2023, Huda's daughter, Naheed Ezaher Khan, filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station in Dhaka in connection with the killing. The case accused Major Mohammad Abdul Jalil of the then 10th

East Bengal Regiment The East Bengal Regiment () is one of the two infantry regiments of the Bangladesh Army, the other being the Bangladesh Infantry Regiment. East Bengal Regiment was founded by Major Abdul Gani. History The East Bengal Regiment was formed on ...

and 20-25 others. The case also mentioned the then chief of army staff and later president of Bangladesh

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

as the mastermind who gave instructions to kill Huda. Huda is commemorated by renaming a road in Dhaka as ''Bir Bikrom Shahid Colonel Khondkar Nazmul Huda Sarak''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huda, Khondkar Nazmul 1938 births 1975 deaths People from Nagarkanda Upazila Recipients of the Bir Bikrom Bangladesh Army officers Bangladesh Army colonels Mukti Bahini personnel Recipients of the Independence Award 20th-century Bangladeshi military personnel