Bangladesh Army veteran
A. T. M. Hamidul Hossain Tariq is a retired Major of the Bangladesh Army and veteran of the Bangladesh Liberation War.[1][2]
Early life
Tariq was born in 1951 in Bogra and studied at Bogra Zilla School.[3][4] His father, Abdul Hamid, was a deputy superintendent of police.[5]
Career
Tariq joined the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 when he was 19 years old and a university student.[3] He was motivated to join the war following the 7 March Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[5] He was trained in India.[6] He fought in sector-7 in the Mukti Bahini.[3] He commanded a Mukti Bahini camp during the war.[7] His unit liberate Fulbari Upazila from the Pakistan Army on 1 December 1971.[1][8] After India joined the war, his unit joined the 6th Guard Regiment of the Indian Army led by Lieutenant Colonel V. K. Datta.[9] For his role in the war, he was awarded Bir Bikrom, third highest gallantry award of Bangladesh, and he was the youngest recipient of the award.[3] He was bullet hit eight times during the war.[10] After the Pakistan Army surrendered on 16 December 1971, Tariq entered Bogra on a tank on 18 December.[8]
Tariq joined Bangladesh Army in 1974.[6] He was a second lieutenant stationed in Comilla Cantonment during the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[11] Tariq retired from Bangladesh Army as major in 1989.[3] He joined Padma Oil Company, a state owned company, after retirement.[3]
Tariq has written extensively on the liberation war; writing 35 books on the war.[3] He was awarded the National Kabi Shamsur Rahman Memorial Award for his literary works.[5] He is a director of the Dhaka Mercantile Co-Operative Bank Limited.[3][12] He signed a statement in 2020 calling for the punishment of those who vandalized a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with other veterans of Bangladesh Liberation War.[13] He was the president of Chittagong University Alumni Association '82.[14]
References