Syed Abdul Hai was a Bengali officer in Pakistan Army who was killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War by Pakistan Army. He is considered a martyr in Bangladesh.

Early life

Hai was born in Miyabari,

Sherpur District Sherpur District () is a district in northern Bangladesh. It is a part of Mymensingh Division. Sherpur District was a sub-division of Jamalpur District before 1984. It was upgraded to a district on February 22, 1984 under Hussain Muhammad Ershad's ...

. He graduated from Sherpur Memorial High School and Jagannath College in 1940. He studied at Lytton Medical School and

Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata Medical College, Kolkata, also known as Calcutta Medical College, is a Government medical college and hospital located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is one of the oldest existing hospitals in Asia. The institute was established on 28 Janua ...

Career

Hai was commission in 1950 in the Army Medical Corps of the Pakistan Army. From 1965 to 1969, Hai was deputed from Pakistan Army to the

Ghana Army The Ghana Army is the principal land warfare force of Ghana. In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast became independent from the British Empire, the Ghana Regiment, Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West ...

. He returned to Pakistan in 1969 and was appointed the commanding officer of the 7th Field Ambulance unit based in Jessore Cantonment as part of the 107 Brigade. He unit was involved in relief operations after the 12 November

1970 Bhola cyclone The 1970 Bhola cyclone (also known as the Great Cyclone of 1970) was a catastrophic and extremely deadly tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) and India's West Bengal on 12 November 1970. It remains the deadliest t ...

. During the non-cooperation movement, Hai used the flag of pro-independence movement in his car which was reported to station commander, Brigadier Abdul Rahim Durrani. He had also made contact with Awami League politicians. After Operation Searchlight was launched starting the Bangladesh Liberation War, the Pakistan Army disarmed the 1st East Bengal and its Bengali commander, Lieutenant Colonel Jalil.

Death

On 30 March 1971, Hai was killed by soldiers of the 27th

Baloch Regiment The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab Regiment, 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the 10th Baluch Regiment, Baluch Regiment. Since then, fur ...

and 22nd

Frontier Force Regiment The Frontier Force Regiment is one of the six infantry regiments of the Pakistan Army. They are popularly known as the ''Piffers'' in reference to their military history as the PIF (Punjab Irregular Force) of the British Indian Army, or as the ...

commanded by Captain Mumtaz. He was buried in Azimpur graveyard. Captain Abul Kalam Sheikh was also killed at the same time. The Bengali soldiers led by Captain Hafizuddin Ahmed fought back against the Baloch and Frontier regiments.

Personal life

Hai was married to Naseem. They had three sons. His brother in law, Enam Ahmed Chaudhary, was the Chairman of the Bangladesh Privatisation Commission and advisor to former Prime Minister

Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...

. His sister is law, Nina Ahmed, is married to former Chief Advisor

Fakhruddin Ahmed Fakhruddin Ahmed (; born 1 May 1940) is a Bangladeshi economist, civil servant, and a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank. He also served as the 4th Chief Adviser of Caretaker government of Bangladesh. On 12 Janu ...

. His other brother in law, Faruq Ahmed Choudhury, was the foreign secretary of Bangladesh and the other, Iftekhar Ahmed Choudhury, is a former advisor in charge of the ministry of Foreign Affairs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hai, Syed Abdul 1971 deaths Pakistan Army officers People killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War People murdered in Bangladesh People from Sherpur District