Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, (born 2 February 1953 in

Munshiganj District Munshiganj ( bn, মুন্সীগঞ্জ), also historically known as Bikrampur, is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District. Geography Total land area is 235974 acres (954 km2), ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

) is a retired

three-star general Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star A one–star rank is usually the lowest ranking general or f ...

of 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 provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and def ...

and former Chief of the

Bangladesh Rifles Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...

during the conflicts with

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December ...

of India and skirmishes with

Banga Sena Bangabhumi ( bn, বঙ্গভূমি, meaning the land of Vanga, also spelt Bongobhumi) also known as Bir Bongo ( bn, বীর বঙ্গ), is a separatist movement to create a Bengali Hindu country for Bangladeshi Hindus in southwestern ...

militant group in the

Bangladesh–India border The Bangladesh–India border, known locally as the International Border (IB), is an international border running between Bangladesh and India that demarcates the eight divisions of Bangladesh and the Indian states. Bangladesh and India share ...

. A former

Principal Staff Officer Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the office holder/ or boss in any school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level i ...

of the Army of Bangladesh he was elevated to the position of Quartermaster general at the same time his Military Academy course-mate

Moeen U Ahmed Moeen Uddin Ahmed is a former Bangladesh Army general and the 12th Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army from 15 June 2005 to 15 June 2009 with last one-year extension during the caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed. He has worke ...

, the Chief of the Army Staff was made first serving

Four-star General A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army gen ...

in national military history. He is widely known to be credited to have gone to the Presidential Palace to ask the

President of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

to declare the

State of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

which led to the Events of 2008 that brought the military in power.

Early life

Jahangir was born on 2 February 1953 and was commissioned in the Corps of Artillery of Bangladesh Army in 1975. Beginning his career as a Gunner he served in different artillery outfits in various capacities including commanding Two Artillery Brigades and a Field Artillery Regiment.

Career

Jahangir had also been an instructor in

Bangladesh Military Academy Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA) is the officers training institute for the officer cadets of Bangladesh Army. It is located in Bhatiary, near Chittagong Hill Tracts, in the Chittagong District of south-east Bangladesh, about 13 kilometres ...

. Later he served as a Group Testing Officer (GTO) in Inter Services Selection Board. He got the unique opportunity to serve as United Nations Military Observer and Staff in three different UN Missions between 1994 and 1996 in

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, Rwanda and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. He is a graduate of Defence Services Command and Staff College and Bangladesh National Defence College, Mirpur, Dhaka. Trained both at home and abroad Jahangir served in number of Command, Staff and Instructional assignments of Bangladesh Army. Apart from Artillery outfits, he commanded Bangladesh Rifles for a significant period - in the rank of Major General as Director General and in the rank of Colonel as Sector Commander. He was assigned with staff responsibilities in Bangladesh Army Headquarters as Master General of Ordnance, Military secretary, Director of Inspectorate of Technical Development and General Staff Officer - 1St Grade in Military Intelligence Directorate. He was also the Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster in HQ 66 Infantry Division and General Staff Officer - II (Coordination) in

. He served as the chairman of Bangladesh Diesel Plant, an army operated manufacturing company. He was the

Armed Forces Division The Armed Forces Division (AFD) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ সশস্ত্র বাহিনী বিভাগ — ) is the principal national command authority for national defense of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The command ...

Relations with India

Chowdhury exclaimed at a press briefing after talks with Indian Home Minister Swami Chinmayanand that India was harboring 90 terrorist camps of anti-Bangladesh separatists. He played a controversial role in blaming India for the grenade attacks which took place on 17 August 2005. The Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh said that the Indian newspapers presented a distorted version of his earlier statement and that he actually said that some Indian criminals might have been involved in the countrywide bomb blasts in Bangladesh. Relations suffered between the two countries as the Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying "Government of India is deeply shocked and dismayed at the remarks. This is a baseless and scurrilous allegation and is all the more shocking because it has been made against a friendly country and particularly after the two countries have had useful and constructive talks between the Bangladesh Rifles and Border Security Force". He further claimed that Indian militants might have crossed into Bangladesh territory to perform the acts. In a separate incidence reported by

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

, India accused BDR of intruding into their Air Space with a few helicopters, which General Chowdhury denied and said that BDR has one helicopter which was then kept with Bangladesh Army. He accused the Indian Army of supporting

, a banned militant group in Bangladesh.

The Mutiny of 2009

In 2009, his immediate successor, the then Chief of BDR Major General Shakil Ahmed was shot and killed along with his wife during the

2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt The Bangladesh Rifles revolt (also referred to as the Pilkhana tragedy) was a mutiny staged on 25 and 26 February 2009 in Dhaka by a section of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary force mainly tasked with guarding the borders of Bangl ...

. As QMG, General Chowdhury headed the Army Enquiry Committee. On 3 December 2009 he was transferred to the Foreign Ministry. He was retired from Army on 2 February 2010.

Personal life

Jahangir is married to Mrs Laila Arzu and they have a son Dr Rishad Choudhury Robin and a daughter Ms Rasna Choudhury Liz.

References