Mostafa Kamal (Bir Sreshtho)

Muhammad Mustafa (Bengali: মুহাম্মদ মুস্তফা), better known as Shaheed Sipahi Muhammad Mustafa was a sepoy in the Bangladesh Army during the Liberation War. He was born on 16 December 1947 in Hajipur village of Daulatikhan upazila under Bhola district. His father, Habibur Rahman was a Havilder. On 18 April 1971, Muhammad Mustafa was killed in a defensive battle against the Pakistan Army in Daruin village of Brahmanbaria. He was awarded the highest recognition of bravery of Bangladesh, Bir Sreshtho.[2]

Muhammad Mustafa Kamal
Born(1947-12-16)16 December 1947
Hajipur Village, Bhola District, Barishal, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
Died18 April 1971(1971-04-18) (aged 23)
Akhaura, Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh[1]
AllegianceBangladesh
RankSepoy
UnitEast Bengal Regiment
Battles/warsBangladesh Liberation War
AwardsBir Sreshtho
Other workSector 7

Biography

Muhammad Mostafa was born in 1947 at the Poshchim Hajipur village under Daulatkhana upazila in Bhola district.[2] His father was a Habildar in the army. Kamal had his education only up to second grade and spent most of childhood with his father at the Comilla Cantonment. On 16 December 1967, Kamal escaped from his house and joined the East Bengal Regiment. Mostafa Kamal was a well known boxer. During the mid March in 1971, he was transferred from Comilla Cantonment to the headquarters of the 4th East Bengal Regiment at Brahmanbaria. As the Bangladesh Liberation War started in 1971, East Bengal Regiment had taken the control of Brahmanbaria with three Defence bases at Aashuganj, Ujanishwar and Anderson lake. But Pakistani army continued attacking with their heavy artillery in these places. As a result, East Bengal Regiment retreated back to Aakhaura, Shangi Nagar and Daruin. 2nd Platoon was sent to Daruin to reinforce the troops. Mostafa Kamal was a soldier of this platoon. Major Shafayat Jamil verbally declared him as the Lance Naek and gave him the responsibility of leading a team. He died at Daruin on 18 April 1971 during a battle against the Pakistan Army. He was buried at Daruin. He was posthumously rewarded as "Bir Shrestho", the highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. A postage stamp was also published to pay respect to him.

Battle of Doruin
Mausoleum of Mostafa Kamal

Muhammad Mostafa was a Sepoy of the 4th East Bengal Regiment. At the start of March, the 4th Regiment was moved from Comilla Cantonment to Brahmanbaria. After the incidents of 25 March,the 4th Regiment successfully brought Brahmanbaria under control. Under the leadership of Major Shafayat Jamil, they revolted against the Pakistani officers and formed a defense Camp at Brahmanbaria. It continued fighting against the Pakistan Army and eventually arrived at Aakhaura. At Aakhaura, the 4th Regiment set their camp in Gangashagar and Talshahar. To avoid any unexpected attacks from the Pakistanis, the 2nd Platoon of the company "Alpha" was sent to Daruin village. Mostafa Kamal was one of the section commanders of 2nd Platoon.

On 16 April, Pakistan Army started to approach towards the Regiment camp. They were coming over the railway of the Comilla-Aakhaura root. The regiment also reconciled their position at Daruin. They settled on their trenches near a pond. Mostafa Kamal took the rightmost position.

On 17 April, Pakistanis opened fire. Major Shafayat Jamil strengthened his force by sending the 11th Platoon of company Delta to Daruin.[3] At around 12 pm, the Pakistanis attacked from West. Another part of the Pakistan Army attacked Mukti Bahini from behind. As a result,the Regiment decided to retreat from Daruin. Mostafa Kamal took the responsibility of covering for his fellow fighters.[4] Most of the fighters retreated to a safer position as Kamal relentlessly kept firing with his light machine gun. He kept on fighting until he ran out of bullets and was surrounded. He was bayoneted to death.[4] He, along with 20 to 40 other Mukti Bahini soldiers, was killed in this battle.

Legacy

In Kamalpur, a football stadium named Bir Sreshtho Shaheed Sipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium was named after him.[5]

gollark: Slightly.
gollark: *prefers functional programming*
gollark: That is a good reflection of my thoughts on OOP, though.
gollark: Yes, well.
gollark: Actually, OOP stands for object oriented programming.

References
  1. "The Bir Sreshtho". BirSreshtho.com. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  2. Chandan, Md Shahnawaz Khan. "A Hero's Tale". The Daily Star. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  3. Mustafa, Hisham Bin. "Bir Sreshtho: The Seven Most Valiant Heroes". news.priyo.com. PRIYO.COM. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  4. Manik, Julfikar Ali; Ahmed, Inam. "Heroes away from home". The Daily Star. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  5. Hoque, Shishir. "BFF get hold of Kamalapur stadium". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
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