Jahangir Alam Chowdhury

Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, (born 2 February 1953 in Munshiganj District, East Pakistan) is a retired three-star general of the Bangladesh Army and former Chief of the Border Guard Bangladesh during the conflicts with Border Security Force of India and skirmishes with Banga Sena militant group in the Bangladesh–India border.[1]

Lieutenant General
Jahangir Alam Chowdhury
Director General of
Bangladesh Rifles
In office
2003–2006
Principal Staff Officer
In office
2006–2007
Quartermaster General of
Bangladesh Army
In office
2007–2010
Personal details
Born2 February 1953
Munshigong
Spouse(s)Laila Arzu
Children2
Alma materBangladesh Military Academy, Chittagong
OccupationFormer Military officer
Military service
Allegiance Bangladesh
Branch/service
Years of service1975 - 2010
RankLieutenant General
CommandsQuartermaster General, Principal Staff Officer, Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Master General of Ordnance, Military Secretary, Commander of 24 & 55 Artillery Brigade, Commanding Officer 24 Field Regiment Artillery

A former Principal Staff Officer of the Army of Bangladesh he was elevated to the position of Quartermaster general at the same time his Military Academy course-mate Moeen U Ahmed, the Chief of the Army Staff was made first serving Four-star General in national military history.[2][3] He is widely known to be credited to have gone to the Presidential Palace to ask the President of Bangladesh to declare the State of emergency which led to the Events of 2008 that brought the military in power.

Early life

Jahangir was born on 2 February 1953 and was commissioned in the Corps of Artillery of Bangladesh Army in 1975. Beginning his career as a Gunner he served in different artillery outfits in various capacities including commanding Two Artillery Brigades and a Field Artillery Regiment.

Career

Jahangir had also been an instructor in Bangladesh Military Academy. Later he served as a Group Testing Officer (GTO) in Inter Services Selection Board. He got the unique opportunity to serve as United Nations Military Observer and Staff in three different UN Missions between 1994 and 1996 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda and Georgia. He is a graduate of Defence Services Command and Staff College and Bangladesh National Defence College, Mirpur, Dhaka.

Trained both at home and abroad Jahangir served in number of Command, Staff and Instructional assignments of Bangladesh Army. Apart from Artillery outfits, he commanded Bangladesh Rifles for a significant period - in the rank of Major General as Director General and in the rank of Colonel as Sector Commander. He was assigned with staff responsibilities in Bangladesh Army Headquarters as Master General of Ordnance, Military secretary, Director of Inspectorate of Technical Development and General Staff Officer - 1St Grade in Military Intelligence Directorate. He was also the Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster in HQ 66 Infantry Division and General Staff Officer - II (Coordination) in Bangladesh Military Academy. He served as the chairman of Bangladesh Diesel Plant, an army operated manufacturing company.[4] He was the Principal Staff Officer of Armed Forces Division.[5]

Relations with India

Chowdhury exclaimed at a press briefing after talks with Indian Home Minister Swami Chinmayanand that India was harboring 90 terrorist camps of anti-Bangladesh separatists.[6] He played a controversial role in blaming India for the grenade attacks which took place on 17 August 2005. The Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh said that the Indian newspapers presented a distorted version of his earlier statement and that he actually said that some Indian criminals might have been involved in the countrywide bomb blasts in Bangladesh.[7] Relations suffered between the two countries as the Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying "Government of India is deeply shocked and dismayed at the remarks. This is a baseless and scurrilous allegation and is all the more shocking because it has been made against a friendly country and particularly after the two countries have had useful and constructive talks between the Bangladesh Rifles and Border Security Force". He further claimed that Indian militants might have crossed into Bangladesh territory to perform the acts.[8] In a separate incidence reported by BBC, India accused BDR of intruding into their Air Space with a few helicopters, which General Chowdhury denied and said that BDR has one helicopter which was then kept with Bangladesh Army.[9] He accused the Indian Army of supporting Banga Sena, a banned militant group in Bangladesh.[10]

The Mutiny of 2009

In 2009, his immediate successor, the then Chief of BDR Major General Shakil Ahmed was shot and killed along with his wife during the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt. As QMG, General Chowdhury headed the Army Enquiry Committee.[11][12] On 3 December 2009 he was transferred to the Foreign Ministry.[13] He was retired from Army on 2 February 2010.

Personal life

Jahangir is married to Mrs Laila Arzu and they have a son and a daughter.

See also

References
  1. "No infiltration from Bangla, says BDR DG". The Indian Express. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  2. "Indian army chief leaves". The Daily Star. 2 August 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  3. "CA arrives in Jeddah". The Daily Star. 17 December 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  4. "Local eco-friendly motorbikes, auto-rickshaws soon". The Daily Star. 27 May 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  5. "New air chief adorned with rank of air vice marshal". The Daily Star. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  6. "BDR: India sheltering anti-Bangla separatists". The Indian Express. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  7. "Indian press twisted BDR DG's comment". The Daily Star. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  8. "BDR chief blames it on Indian media". The Daily Star. 2 October 2005. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  9. "Bangladesh accused of 'intrusion'". BBC News. 24 April 2005. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  10. "Understanding India". The News International. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  11. "4 more bodies identified". The Daily Star. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  12. "Law and Our Rights". The Daily Star. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  13. "Lt Gen Jahangir placed at foreign ministry". The Daily Star. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
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