Abdus Salek Choudhury

Abdus Salek Choudhury (20 September 1947 - 19 November 1972) was a veteran of Bangladesh Liberation war. For his bravery in the war of independence, the government of Bangladesh awarded him the title of Bir Uttom. He held the rank of Captain during the war.^[1][2] He served as Commander of Sector-2.^[3]

Abdus Salek Choudhury
Native name	আবদুস সালেক চৌধুরী
Born	20 September 1946 Dohar, Dhaka, British India (Now, Bangladesh)
Died	19 November 1972
Allegiance	Pakistan (Before 1971)  Bangladesh
Service/branch	Pakistan Army  Bangladesh Army
Years of service	1966-1972
Rank	Major
Unit	East Bengal Regiment
Commands held	Deputy Commander of K Force
Battles/wars	Bangladesh Liberation War
Awards	Bir Uttom

Career

In 1971, Chowdhury served in the Pakistan Army. At that time he was working in Dhaka cantonment. He was in Dhaka in March. He fled on 22 April and joined the Bangladesh Liberation war. Initially, he fought in Comilla under Khaled Musharraf (Bir Uttom). Later, when Salda sector was formed, he was appointed as the captain of Salda river sub-sector of sector two. When Khaled Musharraf was injured in October, Major Chowdhury became the commander of the Mukti Bahini 'K' Force.^[4][3]

At the end of September 1971, the entire area, including Nayanpur, near the Salda river railway station in Brahmanbaria district, was heavily defended by Pakistan Army. In September, Pakistani forces strengthened their defenses and the Mukti Bahini attacked led by Chowdhury. They were able to force the Pakistan Army to retreat. Chowdhury managed to attack the rear of the Pakistan Army with artillery support of the Indian Army.^[5]

Legacy

On 11 February 2010, a book was published about his life titled "Major Abdus Salek Chowdhury and the Salda War".^[6]

References

1. মুক্তিযুদ্ধে তরুণদের মধ্যে মেজর সালেক ছিলেন অনন্য. Samakal (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-08-01.
2. "The apathy towards 1971 in today's society". The Business Standard. 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
3. "'Enemy morale is deteriorating very fast'". The Daily Star. 2015-03-24. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
4. Janata Bank (2012). Ekāttarera bīrayoddhādera abismaranīẏa jībanagān̐thā: khetābaprāpta muktiyoddhā sammānanā smārakagrantha. Dhaka. p. 52. ISBN 978-984-33-5144-9. OCLC 905969768.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
5. Rahman, Matiur, ed. (2012). Ekāttarera bīrayoddhā : khetāba pāoẏā muktiyoddhādera biratvagāthā. Dhaka. p. 36. ISBN 978-984-33-3888-4. OCLC 798112401.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
6. শেষ পৃষ্ঠা » ‘মেজর আবদুস সালেক চৌধুরী ও সালদা যুদ্ধ’ বইয়ের মোড়ক উন্মোচন. The Daily Sangbad (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-08-01.