Mostafa Kamal (Bir Sreshtho)

For other people with similar names, seeMustafa Kamal (disambiguation).

Mustafa Kamal Bir Sreshtho
Born	(1947-12-16)16 December 1947 Barishal,East Bengal,Pakistan
Died	18 April 1971(1971-04-18)(aged 23) Akhaura,Chittagong,Bangladesh
Allegiance	Bangladesh Pakistan(before 1971)
Service/branch	Bangladesh Army Pakistan Army
Years of service	1967-1971
Rank	Sepoy
Unit	East Bengal Regiment
Battles/wars	Bangladesh Liberation War†
Awards	Bir Sreshtho
Other work	Sector 2

Mustafa Kamal(Bengali:মোস্তফা কামাল), better known asShaheed Sipahi Mustafa Kamalwas asepoyin theBangladesh Armyduring theLiberation War.He was born on 16 December 1947 in Hajipur village of Daulatkhan upazila underBholadistrict. His father, Habibur Rahman was a Havilder. On 18 April 1971, Mostafa Kamal was killed in a defensive battle against thePakistan Armyin Daruin village ofBrahmanbaria.He was posthumously awardedBir Sreshtho.

Biography

Mostafa Kamal was born in 1947 at the Poshchim Hajipur village under Daulatkhana Upazila inBholadistrict.His father was aHavildarin the army. Kamal had his education only up to second grade and spent most of his childhood with his father at the Comilla Cantonment. On 16 December 1967, Kamal escaped from his house and joined theEast Bengal Regiment.Mostafa Kamal was a well-known boxer. During mid-March in 1971, he was transferred from Comilla Cantonment to the headquarters of the 4thEast Bengal RegimentatBrahmanbaria.As theBangladesh Liberation Warstarted in 1971,East Bengal Regimenthad taken the control ofBrahmanbariawith three Defence bases atAshuganj,Ujanishwar, and Anderson lake. But, ThePakistani Armycontinued attacking with their, heavy artillery in these places. As a result,East Bengal Regimentretreated back toAkhaura,Shanti Nagar, and Darwin. 2nd Platoon was sent to Darwin 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 Darwin on 18 April 1971 during a battle against the Pakistan Army. He was buried at Darwin. He was posthumously rewarded as "Bir Shrestho", the highest gallantry award inBangladesh.A postage stamp was also published to pay respect to him.

Battle of Daruin

Mausoleum of Mustafa Kamal

Mostafa Kamal was a Sepoy of the 4thEast Bengal Regiment.At the start of March, the 4th Regiment was moved fromComilla CantonmenttoBrahmanbaria.After the incidents of 25 March, the 4th Regiment successfully broughtBrahmanbariaunder control. Under the leadership of Major Shafayat Jamil, they revolted against the Pakistani officers and formed a defense Camp atBrahmanbaria.They continued fighting against thePakistan Armyand eventually arrived atAkhaura.AtAkhaura,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 Darwin village. Mostafa Kamal was one of the section commanders of the 2nd Platoon.

On 16 April,Pakistan Armystarted to approach the Regiment camp. They were coming over the railway of the Comilla-Aakhaura root. The regiment also reconciled their position at Darwin. They settled on their trenches near a pond. Mostafa 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 Darwin.At around 12 pm, the Pakistanis attacked from West. Another part of the Pakistan Army attackedMukti Bahinifrom behind. As a result, the Regiment decided to retreat from Darwin. Mostafa Kamal took the responsibility of covering for his fellow fighters.Most of the fighters retreated to a safer position as Kamal relentlessly kept firing with hislight machine gun.He kept on fighting until he ran out of bullets and was surrounded. He was bayoneted to death.He, along with 20 to 40 other Mukti Bahini soldiers, was killed in this battle.

Legacy

In Kamalpur, a football stadium namedBir Sreshtho Shaheed Sipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadiumwas named after him.