Shahidul Islam (Lalu) (died May 25, 2009) was the youngest person to receive

Bir Protik Bir Protik (, ) is the fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. Recipients This award was declared on 15 December 1973. A total of 426 people have received the award so far, all for their actions during the Bangladesh Liberation War, liber ...

gallantry award. He was only 10 when he took part in the

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 ...

Bangladesh Liberation War

Shahidul went to Anwar Hossain Pahari and his group who were getting ready in the field of Keramjani Jawal School to obstruct the Pakistani Army. He was told he was too young, but was allowed to join upon persistent insistence upon his part. He joined

Kader Bahini Kader Bahini (Force of Kader) was an independent militia created during the Bangladesh War of Independence of 1971, the other being Mukti Bahini. It was named after its leader, Kader Siddique. The militia operated against the Pakistan Army i ...

and Lalu went to

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 ...

for training. He took part in many guerrilla operations liberating Gopalpur Thana. His role included combat and gathering information in disguise. After the liberation of Bangladesh, on 24 January Lalu along with the Kader Bahini submitted their weapons to the then President of

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 country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. He also welcomed General

Jagjit Singh Aurora Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora (or Arora), PVSMBoth spellings are used in official documents; though "Aurora" predominates in the listings in the pre-Independence ''Indian Army List'', as do those in the ''Gazette of India''. (13 Februa ...

, the head of the

Mitro Bahini The Indian Army had no standby force ready in 1971 with the specific task of attacking East Pakistan, one of the many reasons why India did not immediately intervene after Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight in March 1971. Indian Army's Eas ...

along with

Kader Siddique Abdul Kader Siddique is a Bangladeshi politician. He served as a Mukti Bahini commander, and organizer of the Bangladesh War of Independence. He fought with an estimated 17,000-strong guerrilla force in the Tangail region against the Pakistan A ...

Tangail Tangail (, ) is a city of Tangail District in central Bangladesh. A significant city in Bangladesh, Tangail lies on the bank of the Louhajang River, northwest of Dhaka, the nation's capital. Etymology ''Tangail'' originates from the Beng ...

Death

He died on 25 May 2009 at

Dhaka Medical College Hospital Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1946, the college houses a medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on its campus. History Site during ...

References

2009 deaths Recipients of the Bir Protik Year of birth missing People from Tangail District Mukti Bahini personnel {{Bangladesh-bio-stub