Major General Majid-ul-Haq (; 1926 – 25 March 2013) was a

Bangladeshi Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare Military branch, 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 ...

officer and a minister of the

government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

Early life

Majid-ul-Haq was born in Magura on 19 October 1926. He grew up in Delhi, where his father worked in the Indian Central Government. After completing his schooling from Raisina Bengali High School, he went on to do his Intermediate at Hindu College. He then enrolled in a BA (Honours) in English at the same college. However, the death of his father forced him to rethink his career, and he switched to engineering at the Bengal College of Engineering,

Shibpur Shibpur is a neighbourhood in Howrah of Howrah district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is well known for being the ...

. In 1946, he joined the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

and underwent training at the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

Military Career

In 1947, he was transferred to Pakistan and commissioned as a Regular Officer in the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

on 20 October 1947, subsequently joining the Corps of Engineers. He had various field and staff postings in both East and West Pakistan, including Sialkot, Mardan, Risalpur,

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, Rawalpindi, Dhaka, Quetta, Karachi, and the Karakoram Heights. He was also briefly deputed to the Planning Department in Dhaka. He attended the

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, but was recalled when the 1965 War broke out between India and Pakistan. He was also posted to the Pakistan Navy in Karachi. After the declaration of martial law in 1969, he was posted as Deputy Martial Law Administrator in East Pakistan. A disagreement with one of his former West Pakistani colleagues led to his being sent back to General Headquarters in Rawalpindi before the 1970 elections. In September 1971, he and his family were moved to detention camps, first in Kohat and then in Mandi Bahauddin.

Life in Bangladesh

Repatriated to independent Bangladesh in 1973, he served in various capacities, including as Chairman of the Bangladesh Steel Corporation and special Secretary with the rank and status of State Minister, Minister for Industries, Establishment, Water Resources, Port and Shipping, Jute and Textiles, and Agriculture under various governments. He played an active role in the movement for the restoration of democracy against President Ershad. In June 1996, he resigned from the Standing Committee of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and in 2001, he left the party. Majid-ul-Haq published a memoir, ''Unknown, Unhonoured and Unsung,'' in 2012. Major General Majid-ul-Haq died on 25 March 2013. His wife, Mumtaz Jahan Zeb-Un-Nisa Majid, died 10 days before he did. His only sister was Shamsun Nahar Ahmed, and he had four other brothers. Their father "Z Ahmed" died in 1943.

References

{{authority control 1926 births 2013 deaths Bangladeshi male writers Bangladesh Army generals 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 6th Jatiya Sangsad members People from Magura District Politicians from Khulna Division