Mohammad Abdur Rab, BU, psc (; 1919–1975) also known as M A Rab, was the

Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the

Bangladesh Forces 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 Bang ...

from 10 April 1971 till 6 April 1972 during the

Liberation War of Bangladesh 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

Abdur-Rab was born at village of Khagaura under Baniachong of Habiganj on 1 January 1919. His father was a leader of local Panchayat. He was the elder one among three brothers. He obtained his primary education from local primary school. He was admitted to Habiganj Government High School from there he completed his matriculation in 1935. In 1937 he completed his I.Sc from Murari Chand College and B.Sc from the same college in Geography in 1939. Later he obtained Master degree in Geography from

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

in 1942.

Military career

In 1943 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 ...

. After finishing his training, he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in 1944 with Royal Indian Army Service Corps as his parent unit. He fought in the Burma front in the World War II. In 1947 he joined the Pakistan Army after the partition of India. He served as Adjutant of a supply and transport battalion at

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

and also as supply master in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. He later served as a staff Major of Eastern Command station headquarters at

Dacca 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 ...

and was eventually raised to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. When he was serving as an embarkation station commander in Chittagong Cantonment, he retired in January 1970.

Liberation war of Bangladesh

After the crackdown of Pakistan Army he grew up a force with Major

Chitta Ranjan Dutta Chitta Ranjan Dutta BU (1 January 1929 – 26 August 2020), also known as C R Dutta, was a Bangladeshi military officer and war hero who served as two star officer of the Bangladesh Army. He was a key sector commander of the Mukti Bahini dur ...

in Sylhet to defend the Pakistan Army. After the fall of Sylhet he went to India like others. On 11 July 1971 he was appointed as the Chief of Staff of

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 ...

and Group Captain A. K. Khandker was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff. He established his Headquarter at

Agartala Agartala (, , ) is the capital and the List of cities and towns in Tripura, largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tripura, situated on the banks of Haora River, Haora/Saidra River, about east of the border ...

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He was appointed as the Chairman of Eastern Regional Council. On 16 December 1971 while visiting Sylhet with then Colonel M A G Osmani their helicopter was attacked by Pakistan Army and he was injured. He was promoted to the rank of Major General in 1972. He retired from Army in April 1972.

Political career

A lifelong bachelor, he contested in the General Election of 1970 and was elected as Member of National Assembly as candidate Awami League. After the independence of Bangladesh he was elected as lawmaker from the

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

constituency comprising Baniachang and Ajmiriganj thanas in 1973.

After independence of Bangladesh

Abdur Rab was appointed as the Chairman of Bangladesh Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust after his retirement from army. Rumors were spread that Rab was awarded the gallantry medal which his deputy chief of staff (Army) A. K. Khandker conveniently took. Rab was awarded 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 ...

posthumously in 2000.

Awards and decorations

Death

Abdur-Rab died on 14 November 1975 at the

Combined Military Hospital Combined Military Hospitals (, abbreviated as CMH) are Pakistan Armed Forces hospitals situated in various cantonments of Pakistan. History During the British Raj, the British Indian Army troops depended for their medical treatment entirely o ...

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 ...

at age 56. He had been suffering from ailments including anemia. He was laid to rest at his village of khagaura on the banks of Khowai River in Habiganj. His younger brother Abdur Rahim said that no pension was paid to any of his family members. Abdur Rab's grave is at the district headquarters of Habiganj. Other than some local freedom fighters, nobody was seen to go visit the site, even on the country's national days.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rab, Mohammad Abdur 1919 births 1975 deaths People of the Bangladesh Liberation War People from Baniachong Upazila Politicians from Sylhet Division Bangladesh Army generals 1st Jatiya Sangsad members Mukti Bahini personnel Candidates in the 1970 Pakistani general election Members of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh Provisional Government of Bangladesh