Abu Osman Chowdhury

Abu Osman Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi war hero and freedom fighter. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he served as Commander of Sector 8 of the Bangladesh Forces.

Bangladesh liberation war
In 1971, Abu Osman Chowdhury was posted in Kushtia as a Major of the Pakistan army and the Commander of 4th Wing East Pakistan Rifles (EPR). He was in close contact with the Awami League local underground leaders. When the news of Operation Searchlight reached him in the afternoon of 26 March, he revolted along with his fellow Bengali soldiers and raised the flag of Bangladesh at 4 Wing Quarter of Jessore Cantonment. The 4 wing of EPR, led by Major Chowdhury and reinforced with Police and Ansar personnels and local youth, attacked 27 Baluch of Pakistan Army stationed at Chuadanga and Kushtia and eliminated almost 2 companies.

In the first sector commander's conference in July, Major Abu Osman Chowdhury was appointed the commander of the western sector, which comprised Kushtia, Jessore, areas of Faridpur, including Doulatpur-Satkhira Road encompassed within Khulna.

East Pakistan Rifles (EPR), the border security force, played an important role in our liberation war. It was past noon of 26 March when Major Abu Osman Chowdhury reached his Wing headquarters at Chuadanga. There, his NCOs briefed him of the overall situation including formal organisation of local resistance in the wake of he crackdown at Dhaka. In the meantime Dr Ashab Ul Haq had contacted him over telephone and invited him to an emergency meeting with the public leaders and representatives of the local administration. At the meeting Major Osman was asked totake charge of the armed resistance force that he accepted at once. After a longdiscussion the first ever war command of Bangladesh, named South Western Command, was formed on 26 March 1971 in Chuadanga. While Major Abu OsmanChowdhury was given the position of the Commander, Dr Ashab Ul Haq, MPA becamethe Chief Advisor and Barrister Abu Ahmed Afzalur Rashid alias Badal Rashid, MNAand Advocate Yunus Ali, MPA were made Deputy Chief Advisors. The whole of western region of the Padma was taken under the command comprising that of Kushtia,Faridpur, Jessore, Khulna and Barisal districts. All the armed personnel from defence,EPR, Police, Ansar, Mujahid and armed student wing of the area were vested under theCommand. The newly built District Council Dak Bungalow was made the Command Headquarter. The next day on 27 March at about noon the Pakistani flag, last flying oneat the EPR Wing headquarter was ceremoniously lowered and the tri-colour Bangladeshflag was hoisted at the flag post by Major Osman. Captain A R Azam Chowdhury, his deputy, was there who after wards played valiant role under the Command. Major Osman held the position till division of Bangladesh war commands into 11 Sectors by the Provisional Government on 11 July 1971. The South Western Command was then renamed Sector-8 with some revision of the command area and Major Osman continued to hold the position of the Sector Commander till Major M Abul Manjur took over in September 1971.

On 7 November morning, 1975 during "Sepoy Biplob";the Bangladesh Army went to Abu Osman Chowdhuy's residence at Gulshan to kill him. Unable to find Abu Osman Chowdhury, those criminals killed his wife. At the same time other killer group went to Sher e Bangla Nagar and killed sector commander Khaled Musharraf, K, N, Huda and Col Hyder.