Moazzem Hossain was a Pakistan Navy Lieutenant Commander and an accused of 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 killed by the Pakistan Army 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 ...

Early life

He was born on 17 September 1932 in Dumuritala,

Pirojpur Pirojpur () is a town in Pirojpur district in Barisal Division in southern Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eig ...

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

. His father was Mofazzel Ali and his mother was Latifunnesa Begum. He graduated from Kachua High School. He later joined Bagerhat College and Brajamohan College.

Career

In 1950, he joined the

Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...

and received his commission. He completed his mechanical engineering and marine engineering degrees from the British Institute of Mechanical Engineering and the British Institute of Marine Engineering in 1958–1960. In 1966, he was made chief engineer of Chittagong Naval Base. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander one year later. He was deputed to East Pakistan Inland Water Transport Authority in Barisal. On 9 December 1967, he was arrested by Military Intelligence Branch. He was charged under the

. He was accused of supporting separatism in East Pakistan. The Agartala Conspiracy Case was withdrawn on 22 February 1969. He returned to service upon release and retired on 18 March 1970. He joined politics after retirement. He declared his intention on 24 March 1970 to establish an independent country based on the

Lahore Resolution The Lahore Resolution, later called the Pakistan Resolution in Pakistan, was a formal political statement adopted by the All-India Muslim League on the occasion of its three-day general session in Lahore, Punjab, from 22 to 24 March 1940, call ...

. To that end, on 28 March 1970, he established the Lahore Prostab Bastabayan Committee. He tried to convince

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 ...

to start an armed rebellion. He asked those in his party to take military training. He traveled to different parts of East Pakistan to mobilize public opinion.

Death and legacy

He was killed in his home in Dhaka on 26 March 1971 by 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 ...

Bangladesh Navy The Bangladesh Navy () is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for the defence of Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area from any external threat, the security of sea ports and exclusive economic zones of Ban ...

base BNS Shaheed Moazzem in

Rangamati Rangamati () is a town and the administrative headquarters of Rangamati District in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The town is located at 22°37'60N 92°12'0E and has an elevation of above sea level. Demographics According to th ...

was named after him on 16 January 1976. On 14 December 1993, a commemorative postal stamp was issued in his name. Shaheed Lieutenant Commander Moazzem Hossain Sarak, a road in Dhaka was named after him by the

Dhaka City Corporation Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) was the former self-governing corporation that was entrusted with the task of administering the municipal affairs of Dhaka. The incorporated area was divided into several wards. Each ward has an elected ward commiss ...

. In 2012, he was given the

Independence 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 Banglades ...

posthumously by the Government of Bangladesh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hossain, Moazzem Bangladesh Navy personnel Causes and prelude of the Bangladesh Liberation War Bangladeshi activists Bengali Muslims 20th-century Bengalis Protest-related deaths Recipients of the Independence Award