M Khademul Bashar, BU, psc (1 September 1935 – 1 September 1976) was a two star

air officer An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force, air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth of Natio ...

who served as chief of air Staff 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 ...

on 1976. He also held the office of Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrator and was in charge of the Ministry of Petroleum, the Ministry of Food and Civil Aviation and the Department of Tourism.

Early life

Khademul Bashar was born in Bogura on 1 September 1935. He passed his matriculation from Satkhira Prananath High School and intermediate from

Rajshahi College Rajshahi College (Bengali language, Bengali: রাজশাহী কলেজ) is a public college, public educational institution in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Established in 1873, it is the third oldest college in Bangladesh after Dhaka College a ...

. He joined the Pakistan Air Force as a flight cadet in 1955.

Career

Bashar enlisted 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 ...

in 1954 and was commissioned on general duties (pilot) in 1956. His initial parent unit was No. 16 Squadron. Before his repatriation, he served at different capacities such as second in command of No. 7 Squadron and No. 25 Squadron. He was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander in 1970 and was posted as staff officer at then PAF Base Tejgaon he was as senior operations officer of Tejgaon Air Base until 27 March 1971. He was awarded Tamgha-i-Basalat for in the 1965 War. Bashar, Group Captain A. K. Khandker, and several other East Pakistani pilots defected in May 1971 and escaped to India. He was one of only two airforce officers during

Bangladesh Liberation War 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 ...

and was designated him

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 ...

Commander Sector 6. Later on November 3 General M.A.G Osmani designated Muhammad Hamidullah Khan as commander of Sector 6. After the independence of Bangladesh Bashar was promoted to the rank of Group Captain in February 1972 and initially served in the army for establishing the 72nd Independent Infantry Brigade as deputy of Colonel Chitta Ranjan Dutta. He was then designated as air officer commanding the BAF Base Tejgaon. In 1973 he was promoted to the rank of Air Commodore and returned to newly formed Air Headquarters as Director (Operations) and Provost Marshal. Bashar was then ameliorated to Air Vice Marshal and was appointed the Chief of Air Staff of Bangladesh Air Force on 1st May 1976. Within his truncated tenure, Bashar inaugurated the first two Shenyang J-6 squadrons (No. 5 squadron & No. 8 squadron) of Bangladesh Air Force.

Death and legacy

Khademul Bashar died on 1 September 1976 in an air crash. He was attending the inauguration of the Flying Instructors School at Tejgaon in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

on a Air Tourer. On its maiden flight, an NZAI Air Tourer rolled over and crashed nose down into the airfield. Both the pilot, Squadron Leader Mofizul Haq and Bashar were killed instantly. The BAF base at Tejgaon, Dhaka has been renamed Base Bashar in his honour.

References

, - 1935 births 1976 deaths Bangladesh Air Force air marshals People from Bogra District Rajshahi College alumni Chiefs of Air Staff (Bangladesh) Mukti Bahini personnel {{Bangladesh-mil-bio-stub