List of 1971 War Heroes who has been residing at Banani DOHS
General M. A. G. Osmani
Early life and education:
General Osmani was born to a landowning family in Sunamganj, British India, on 1 September 1918. He was a descendant of Shah Nizamuddin Osmani, a 14th-century associate of Shah Jalal. The Osmani ancestral village is in Dayamir Union, Balaganj Upazila.
Osmani attended the Cotton School in Sylhet, matriculating at the Sylhet Government Pilot School in 1934. He won the Pritoria Prize for excellence in English. Osmani studied geography at Aligarh Muslim University, and graduated in 1938. He enrolled as a cadet at the Indian Military Academy the following year.
Military career:
He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant Artillery officer in October 1940. Osmani was initially attached to the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment. Osmani was promoted to temporary Captain on 17 February 1941, and received a battlefield promotion to temporary Major on 23 May 1942. Between 1941 and 1945, he held the posts of platoon commander, battalion adjutant, company 2IC and battalion commander. From November 1944 to February 1945, Osmani was a grade-two general staff officer at his formation headquarters, completing the Senior Officers Course after the war.
After the birth of India and Pakistan in 1947, Osmani joined the Pakistan Army on 7 October 1947 and was promoted to Acting Lieutenant Colonel on 7 January 1948. He was posted to General Headquarters as GSO-1, Coordination, Planning and Personnel.
Osmani attended the Staff Course at the Quetta. He served with Yahya Khan, Tikka Khan and A. A. K. Niazi, all of whom led the Pakistan Army against Bangladesh Liberation Forces in 1971.
On 08 November 1951, Osmani became the CO of the 1st East Bengal Regiment, stationed in Jessore as part of the 107th Brigade. He chose Bengali songs for regimental marching and its band ("Chal Chal Chal". Osmani was Commandant of the East Bengal Regimental Centre in Chittagong from February 1953 to January 1955.
Osmani, as a Lieutenant Colonel, was a senior advisor at CENTO Headquarters in Baghdad. He was promoted to Colonel in May 1956 and posted to GHQ at Rawalpindi as Deputy Director for Military Operations (DDMO. Osmani retired from the Pakistan Army on 16 February 1967
Osmani joined Awami League in 1970 and Elected as MNA:
After his retirement Osmani entered East Pakistani politics, joining Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's All Pakistan Awami Muslim League in 1970. As an Awami League candidate, he was elected to the National Assembly from the Balaganj-Fenchuganj Upazila area of Sylhet.
Appointment - Commander-in- Chief of Bangladesh Armed Forces:
War of Liberation in 1971 Osmani joined the Provisional Government and was appointed as Commander-in- Chief of Bangladesh Armed Forces. Osmani took command of the Mukhti Bahini after 17 April 1971.
The Great Leader General Osmani died in 16 February 1984 (aged 65) in London, England. Buried at Shah Jalal Dargah Cemetery Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Banani