Badrul Alam (13 February 1948 – 27 October 2023) was a squadron leader of the

Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) () is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The air force is primarily responsible for air defence of Bangladesh's sovereign territory as well as providing air support to the Bangladesh Army a ...

who fought in the

Bangladesh War of Independence The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

, for which the government of Bangladesh gave him the Bir Uttam award, the second highest award for individual gallantry in Bangladesh. In 2016, he received the

Independence Day Award The Independence Award (), formally known as the Independence Day Award or Swadhinata Padak (), is the highest state award given by the government of Bangladesh. Introduced in 1977 by President Ziaur Rahman, this award is bestowed upon Banglade ...

Early life and education

Although Alam's ancestral home was Char Barai in Singair Upazila of

Manikganj District Manikganj District (; ) is a district in central Bangladesh and part of the Dhaka Division. Manikganj is called the land of rivers & cultural heritage of central Bangladesh.It was established in 1845 as a subdivision of Faridpur District, then in ...

, he grew up in Dhaka. He was the son of father Khandaker Mohammad Badruddoza and mother Hosne Ara Begum. He was married to Nadera Alam, with whom he had a son and daughter. He completed his matriculation from

PAF College Lower Topa PAF College Lower Topa is an all-boys military boarding school situated at Lower Topa, Murree which is located near Patriata in the Murree region of the Murree District of Pakistan. Situated on a hilltop, the institution is made up of a series o ...

in 1965. Later he passed HSC during his training in

Pakistan Air Force Academy The Pakistan Air Force Academy Asghar Khan (PAFAA) is an accredited four-year military academy which provides undergraduate education to officer candidates of the Pakistan Armed Forces, primarily the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).Shaheen Foundati ...

Career

He joined the

on 22 February 1966. He was commissioned in

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

on 28 January 1968. Until mid-February 1971, he was posted at

Sargodha Airbase Pakistan Air Force Base Mushaf or more simply PAF Base Mushaf (formerly PAF Station Sargodha and PAF Base Sargodha), ) is a Pakistan Air Force airbase situated at Sargodha in Punjab, Pakistan. It is designated as a "Major Operational Base" (MOB ...

in Pakistan as a Flight Lieutenant, after which he was posted to Dhaka. When the war of liberation started, he fled from Dhaka to India in the first half of May. At first, he worked as a staff officer at 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 ...

headquarters, later joining the Bangladesh Air Force when it was formed, and was instrumental in recruiting and training pilots and airmen needed for the Air Force. Besides Godnail, he conducted several other air operations against Pakistani bases and convoys. Alam served in the Bangladesh Air Force until retirement. In 1975, he was sent to force retirement which was effected from March 1980. After retirement he began working for

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Biman Bangladesh Airlines, commonly known as Biman ( , ), is the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. With its main hub at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, the airline also operates flights from its secondary hubs at Shah Am ...

Contribution to the liberation war of Bangladesh

On 3 December 1971, Alam, along with co-pilots Sultan Mahmud and Sahabuddin Ahmed, flew an Alouette helicopter armed with 14 rockets and a machine gun from

Dimapur Dimapur () is the largest city and municipality in the Indian state of Nagaland. As of 2024 , the municipality had a population of 172,000. The city is the main gateway and commercial centre of Nagaland. Located near the border with Assam along ...

, a hilly area in the Indian state of Nagaland, to strike and destroy a fuel depot of 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 ...

situated near Godnail,

Narayanganj Narayanganj () is a city in central Bangladesh in the Greater Dhaka area. It is in the Narayanganj District, about southeast of the capital city of Dhaka. With a population of almost 1 million, it is the 6th largest city in Bangladesh. It is als ...

. They were accompanied by two operators. The Godnail depot supplied fuel for Pakistani ground, naval, and air vehicles. In preparation for an all-out war with India, the Pakistanis stockpiled huge quantities of fuel oil. The guerrillas of the Mukti Bahini tried but failed to damage the depot due to heavy security. He and his team were successful in destroying that oil depot.

Death

Badrul Alam died on 27 October 2023, at the age of 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alam, Badrul 1948 births 2023 deaths Recipients of the Independence Award Mukti Bahini personnel Bangladesh Air Force personnel Recipients of the Bir Uttom People from Manikganj District