M. A. G. Osmani

General Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani Bir Uttom
মুহাম্মদ আতাউল গণি ওসমানী
1st Commander-in-Chief of Bangladesh Army
In office 12 April 1971 – 6 April 1972
President	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Syed Nazrul Islam Abu Sayeed Chowdhury
Prime Minister	Tajuddin Ahmed Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Succeeded by	K. M. Shafiullah (as Chief of Army Staff)
Personal details
Born	(1918-09-01)1 September 1918 Sunamganj, Assam, British India
Died	16 February 1984(1984-02-16) (aged 65) London, United Kingdom
Awards	Bir Uttom Independence Award
Nickname(s)	Bangabir (বঙ্গবীর), Papa Tiger
Military service
Allegiance	British India  Pakistan  Bangladesh
Branch/service	British Indian Army  Pakistan Army  Bangladesh Army
Years of service	1939-1972
Rank	General
Unit	Indian Army Service Corps Punjab Regiment East Bengal Regiment
Commands	Commander-in-Chief of Mukti Bahini Commandant of East Bengal Regimental Centre CO of 1st East Bengal Regiment CO of 14th Punjab Regiment CO of East Pakistan Rifles Military Operations Directorate of the General Headquarters (Pakistan Army)
Battles/wars	World War II Indo-Pak War of 1965 Bangladesh War of Liberation

Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani (Bengali: মুহাম্মদ আতাউল গণি ওসমানী, Sylheti : ꠄꠝ ꠄ ꠎꠤ ꠅꠡꠝꠣꠘꠤ ; 1 September 1918 – 16 February 1984), was a Bengali military leader. Osmani's career spanned five decades, beginning with service in the British Indian Army in 1939. He fought in the Burma Campaign during World War II. After the partition of India in 1947, he joined the Pakistan Army and served in the East Bengal Regiment, retiring as a colonel in 1967. Osmani joined the Provisional Government of Bangladesh in 1971 as the commander-in-chief of the nascent Bangladesh Forces. Regarded as the founder of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, Osmani retired as the first full general from the Bangladesh Army in 1972.^[1][2]

Osmani entered politics in independent Bangladesh, serving as a member of parliament and cabinet minister in the government of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Along with Mainul Hosein, he resigned from parliament in opposition to the creation of the one party state of BAKSAL. He advised the government on restoring the chain of command in the military after the 15 August coup. He contested the 1978 Bangladeshi presidential election against Ziaur Rahman. Osmani died in London in 1984 and was buried in his hometown Sylhet.^[3]