Nur Mohammad Sheikh BS (; 26 February 1936 – 5 September 1971) was a Lance Nayek in

East Pakistan Rifles East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

during the

Liberation War Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

. He was killed in an engagement with 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 ...

, while providing covering fire for the extrication of fellow soldiers at Goalhati in Jessore district on 5 September 1971. He was awarded

Bir Sreshtho The Bir Sreshtho (; ), is the highest military award of Bangladesh. It was awarded to seven freedom fighters who showed utmost bravery and died in action for their nation. They are considered martyrs. The other three gallantry awards are named, ...

, Bangladesh's highest award for valour.

Early life

Sheikh was born on 26 February 1936, in Moheshkhali village of

Narail Narail is a city in the Khulna division of southwestern 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, eighth-most populous cou ...

. His father was Mohammad Amanat Sheikh and his mother's name was Mosammat Jinnatunnesa Khanam. He lost his parents at an early age and continued his education up to seventh grade at local schools. As a child, he loved theatre. Sheikh was married to Fazilatunnesa (d. 2018). On 14 March 1959, Sheikh joined the

. After finishing elementary training, During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, where he was wounded. he was also appointed at the

Dinajpur Dinajpur ( ) is a city and the district headquarters of Dinajpur district situated in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. It was founded in 1786. It is located 413 km north-west of Dhaka. It is bounded on the north by Suihari, Katapara, Bangi ...

sector. He was transferred to

Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...

sector on 1 July 1970. In March 1971, Sheikh was spending a vacation at his village. As the war started, he joined sector 8 and continued to take part at different battles at Jessore. He died on 5 September during the Goalhati Battle in Sutipur.

Battle of Goalhati

Lance Nayek Nur Mohammad was selected as the captain of the Standing Patrol team at Goalhati in Jessore's Chutipur Camp that was established to monitor activities of the

. On 5 September, Nur Mohammad was patrolling with 4 fellow soldiers. Later on, The

Pakistani 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 ...

attacked them from three different sides. Nur Mohammad did not want to retreat to his base but instead engaging the Pakistani troops. Meanwhile, one of his fellow soldiers, Nannu Mia, was injured after a bullet hit him. Nur Mohammad tried to carry Nannu Mia towards safety while trying to fire his gun from different places as a trick to confuse the Pakistani troops into believing that there were more than four Bangladeshi rebels. In doing so, Nur Mohammad himself was hit by a mortar and his foot was destroyed. Even though, he was seriously injured, Nur Mohammad decided to continue to provide cover fire for his team to escape. At the time, his fellow Sepoy Mostafa urged Nur Mohammad to go with him. Mostafa even tried to force Nur Mohammad to go but Nur Mohammad refused to go and gave his light machine gun to Mostafa, so that it would not be captured after his death. He kept a self-loaded rifle with him and kept on fighting until he died.

Legacy

Birshrestha Noor Mohammad Public College at Pilkhana has been named in his memory. He was buried in Kashipur under Sharsha Upazila of Jessore A hospital in Jessore is named after him. Grave of Bir Sreshtha Nur Mohammad Sheikh

Grave of Bir Sreshtha Nur Mohammad Sheikh

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nur, Mohammad Sheikh 1936 births 1971 deaths 20th-century Bangladeshi military personnel People killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War Recipients of the Bir Sreshtho People from Narail District Mukti Bahini personnel Bangladesh Liberation War Bengali military personnel Martyr of Bangladesh