Quazi Nuruzzaman was a Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

i military officer who was a key commander of the Mukti Bahini

Mukti Bahini

Mukti Bahini , also termed as the "Freedom Fighters" or FFs, collectively refers to the armed organizations who fought against the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was dynamically formed by Bengali regulars and civilians after the proclamation of Bangladesh's independence on...

 during the Bangladesh Liberation War

Bangladesh Liberation War

The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....

. Bangladesh was divided into eleven sectors and each of those sectors had a Sector Commander who would direct the guerrilla warfare. He was appointed Sector Commander of sector 7 and played a key role in Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan during the 1971 war.

Early life and army career

Nuruzzaman received his education from the exclusive St. Xavier's College, Calcutta

St. Xavier's College, Calcutta

St. Xavier's College is located in Kolkata, India, and is named after St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit saint of the 16th century, who travelled to India. It is an autonomous college affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It gained autonomy in July 2006, thus becoming the first autonomous college of...

 majoring in Chemistry. Subsequently he joined the British Indian Navy but due to Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

's persuasion, he joined the Armed forces and completed his training from Royal School of Artillery

Royal School of Artillery

The Royal School of Artillery is the principal training establishment for artillery warfare in the British Army. Established in 1915, it is located at Larkhill, on the south edge of Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom...

 in UK.He went on to become Major but then decided to quit the armed forces.

Since he was a Bengali in the Pakistan Army, he was subject to racial smears and insults. However, he didn't sacrifice his dignity and one such example was his comment against Ayub Khan.

Liberation War Commander

In 1971, he joined the Liberation War as Sector Commander and was awarded the Bir Uttom

Bir Uttom

Bir Uttom is the second highest award for individual gallantry in Bangladesh after the Bir Sreshtho.Since independence of Bangladesh in 1971, 69 people have been awarded as Bir Uttom....

 award, which is the second highest award for individual gallantry in Bangladesh. However since thousands of Mukti Bahini

Mukti Bahini

Mukti Bahini , also termed as the "Freedom Fighters" or FFs, collectively refers to the armed organizations who fought against the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was dynamically formed by Bengali regulars and civilians after the proclamation of Bangladesh's independence on...

 volunteers mostly farmers were killed and didn't receive any recognition, he decided not to accept any gallantry award and rejected the Bir Uttom

Bir Uttom

Bir Uttom is the second highest award for individual gallantry in Bangladesh after the Bir Sreshtho.Since independence of Bangladesh in 1971, 69 people have been awarded as Bir Uttom....

award.