A Legacy of Honour

My Alma Mater, Faujdarhat Cadet College (FCC) is a sprawling, scenic campus, sitting on 185 acres of land approximately 11 km north of the city of Chattogram; it has been awarded the country's highest civilian honor, the ‘Swadhinata Padak’ ('Independence Award') in 2026 in the Liberation War category. 

I am profoundly delighted to have spent six of my formative years in this campus.

My memory of Faujdarhat covers the period between 1969-1975. 64 of us had joined the College on July 20, 1969, the day Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin had landed on the moon. 

The following day, Col. N.D Ahmed (Principal) greeted us by saying, ‘Some people have landed in our campus like Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin set their first step on the moon last night.’

On March 7, 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered his historic speech in the Ramna Race Course. News percolated fast within the FCC campus. We were in 8th grade, at the lowest end of the hierarchy (7th through 12th grades).

On March 8, we were bundled on buses destined for Chittagong town, then to proceed to our respective homes via buses, trains, and automobiles.

Until then, the campus was almost an idyllic place. Away from our parents, siblings, and relatives, we were exposed to some of the finest teachers, books, and library one can dream of at our age. It was a regimented life, of course.

Waking up at 5.45 am to the sound of a bugle (Reveille), our days were meticulously planned in advance for the whole week, with a brief respite at the end (of the week.) We went home for our much needed breaks after the (equivalent of a) semester was over.

It wasn’t just the teachers who were notable. The entire administration, from the Principal and Adjutant down to the very efficient Ustads and the staff, backed by funding from the then Defence department, geared towards the success of each cadet.

They were tireless in their efforts to help us get better at what we do, and excel at everything: Academics, sports, debating to dramatic arts, singing and musical skills, just to name a few.

As for teachers, we had a nonpareil cadre of individuals, chosen from the finest, who taught us every subject from Civics, Geography, Military Science, Religious Studies, Biology, Physics, Chemistry to Literature: Bengali, Urdu (there was a sizable number of students from the then West Pakistan, and the local Muhajeer community), and English.

Some of them were qualified above, and beyond what they were assigned to teach.

I fondly remember my teacher Nasir Chowdhury (younger brother of Professors Munier and Kabir Chowdhury) discussing Sartre (I had checked out No Exit (Huis Clos) from the Library). The incomparable Syed Abul Hasan, Nazrul Islam, and Humayun Kabir were masters of Bengali Literature.

The poems of Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Jasimuddin, the prose of Tagore, Sharat Chandra, and other literary luminaries were part of their vocabulary. Mr. Rafi Imam, and Syed Salim Ullah were masters of Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Byron, and yes, D.H. Lawrence.

Faujdarhat Cadet College was inaugurated on April 28, 1958. It was the second Cadet College in Pakistan. William Maurice Brown (1910–1974) of New Zealand was the founder and the first principal of this college, one of the 12 Cadet Colleges of Bangladesh. Col. Brown was then a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the New Zealand Army, a recipient of Britain's Order of the British Empire (OBE), and an observer (Extra Ordinary) of the United Nations. (Legend has it that Col. Brown, and Ayub Khan fought together in Burma against the Japanese.)

It is truly rare for an institution to have played such a prominent role in the founding of a nation during the 1971 Liberation War. I can think of only a few in the West - US Military Academy at West Point, Virginia Military Institute, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst UK, and Monastir Military High School in Turkey. The latter, as the training ground of Kemal Ataturk, comes closest in comparison.

Cadet colleges were not exclusively military training schools. These were established with developing both civilian and military leadership in mind. Frequent comparisons were drawn to the venerable Eton, Harrow, Winchester, the Rugby or the Tonbridge school in the UK, perhaps due to initial steering, and guidance from Col. Brown.

Of the 50+ FCC  students who were freedom fighters, 8 were martyred. For heroic contribution in 1971, 11 have been awarded titles. The Bir Uttam Medal was awarded to Lt. Mohammad Anwar Hossain (7th batch). The Bir Bikram Medal was awarded to four others, the Bir Pratik Medal to six.

Part of the 1st East Bengal Regiment (107 Infantry Brigade) at Jessore Cantonment, Lt. Anwar Hossain and a number of Bengali soldiers broke into the Arms Depot on March 30, 1971, snatched away arms, and fought courageously against the Pakistani soldiers, Anwar bhai embracing martyrdom that same night.

Shaheed Badiul Alam, Bir Bikram, is a legend in his own right. He trained under Major K.M Shafiullah, operating in the Kishoreganj area in May. The most daring operations by Badiul Alam were the ones in Farm Gate (8th of August), and in Dhanmondi (25th of August). Captured on the 29th of the same month, he embraced martyrdom, enduring unspeakable torture.

Capt. A.K.M. Nurul Absar was working in a tank regiment in West Pakistan in March. Having disabled ~20 tanks before these were shipped to East Pakistan, he came to Dacca, then escaped the Cantonment on the 28th of March to join the fight, embracing martyrdom on the 28th of May.

Major M.A Khaleque was captured on the 27th of March in Comilla Cantonment and martyred on the 28th.

Capt. Shamsul Huda was working in the Infantry Brigade in Pakistan. On vacation on March 25, he decided to join the fight for freedom, achieving major success in Chittagong on July 1st. He embraced martyrdom shortly before December 16th.

2nd Lt. Rafique Ahmad Sarkar was with the 3rd East Bengal Regiment in Rangpur Cantonment. He attacked a Cavalry contingent with a Platoon of soldiers on March 30. Captured, he was brutally tortured before being executed the same night.

Mufti Kased bhai was an accomplished chess player. He joined the fight in the Mymensingh area and was martyred on the 14th of June while freeing a prisoner from the collaborators.

Mosharraf Hossain bhai was an assistant director in the Karnaphuli Paper Mill, Chandraghona, Chittagong. He had organized successful resistance in the Chandraghona-Kaptai area to hinder the free movement of the Pakistani army. Sadly, he was captured, and embraced martyrdom in the first week of April.

In addition to these 8, there were brave fighters who survived, and are able to bask in their well-deserved glory. The ‘Swadhinata Padak’ is a fitting acknowledgement of their bravery, and sacrifice, a tribute to their lasting legacy to the nation for years to come.

Although we were too young to participate in the Liberation War, I am genuinely proud of my batchmate, and dear friend, General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, who was the 14th Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army.

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Acknowledgement: I am grateful to Old Faujian Najmul Hasan (FCC Batch 18) for his kindness in providing the background information, and for spearheading the effort, with others, to honour the FCC Freedom Fighters.

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Dr. Ferdous Khan (FCC Batch 16, Yale ’81) is a NASA trained theoretical nuclear physicist.