Awards and decorations of the Bangladesh Liberation War were decorations bestowed by the major warring parties for actions during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Bangladesh, India and Pakistan all issued awards and decorations related to the conflict.
A listing of the medals bestowed are as follows:
Bangladesh
Gallantry awards
A total of 677 participants of the Bangladesh War of Independence received gallantry awards for their service and bravery. Four categories of gallantry awards were created after the war in Bangladesh. These were:
The Bir Sreshtho (Bengali: বীরশ্রেষ্ঠ) (Valiant of Courage), is the highest military award of Bangladesh. It was awarded to seven freedom fighters who showed utmost bravery and died in action for their nation. They are considered martyrs.
Recipients All the recipients of this award were killed in action during the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. The award was published by the Bangladesh Gazette on 15 December 1973. It is the highest military award of Bangladesh, similar to the U.S. Medal of Honor or the UK's Victoria Cross. It has only been given in 1973 to seven people. Listed below are the people who have received the Bir Srestho medal. They are all considered 'Shaheed' (Martyrs).
Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir †- Sepoy Hamidur Rahman †
- Sepoy Mostafa Kamal †
Engine room artificer Ruhul Amin †- Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman †
Lance Naik Munshi Abdur Rouf †- Lance Naik Nur Mohammad Sheikh †
Recipients
| No. | NAME | SECTOR | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Khaja Nazimuddin Bhuiyan, (posthumous) | Sector-04 | Leader Public Force/Gano Bahini |
| 02 | K M Shafiullah | Commander, S Force | Major |
| 03 | Ziaur Rahman | Commander, Z Force | Major |
| 04 | Chittoronjon Datta | Sector Commander-04 | Major |
| 05 | Kazi Nuruzzaman | Sector Commander-07 | Major |
| 06 | Mir Showkat Ali | Sector Commander-05 | Major |
| 07 | Khaled Mosharraf | Commander, K Force | Major |
| 08 | Abdul Manzur | Sector Commander-08 | Major |
| 09 | Abu Taher | Interim Sector Commander-11 | Major |
| 10 | A N M Nuruzzaman | Sector Commander-03 | Captain |
| 11 | Rafiqul Islam | Sector Commander-01 | Captain |
| 12 | Abdus Salek Choudhury | Sector Commander-02 | Captain |
| 13 | Aminul Haque | Commander, 8 East Bengal | Major |
| 14 | Mohammad Abdur Rab | Army chief, AHQ | Lieutenant Colonel |
| 15 | A K Khandker | Deputy Chief of Staff Army | Group Captain |
| 16 | Shahjahan Omar | – | – |
| 17 | Kader Siddique | – | – |
| 18 | Liakat Ali Khan | – | – |
| 19 | Shahabuddin Ahmed | – | – |
| 20 | Anwar Hossain Pahari | – | – |
| 21 | Aftab Ali | (Sector-11)3rd East Bengal | subeder |
| 22 | Motiur Rahman | – | Lieutenant Colonel |
Bir Bikrom (Bengali: বীর বিক্রম Valiant hero)
A total of 175 fighters have been awarded on 15 December 1973 for their heroic actions at the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The government of Bangladesh declared the name of the awardees in Bangladesh Gazette on 15 December 1973. In recent 1 Bir Bikrom title award postponed. So total Bir Bikram awarded person is 174.
Bir Protik (Bengali: বীর প্রতীক Idol of Courage)
This award was officially declared on 15 December 1973 through the Bangladesh Gazette. According to the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, a total of 426 people have received the award.
Liberation War medals
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Samor Pawdok (War Medal) |
|
Joy Pawdok (Victory Medal) |
|
Rono Taroka (Campaign Star) |
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Mukti Taroka (Liberation Star) |
Civilian awards
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The Independence Day Award (Bengali: স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Independence Award (Bengali: স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার), Swadhinata Padak, and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by the government of Bangladesh. Introduced in 1977, this award is bestowed upon Bangladeshi citizens or organisations in recognition of substantial contribution to one of many fields, including the War of Liberation, the language movement, education, literature, journalism, public service, science and technology, medical science, social science, song, games and sports, fine arts, rural development, and other areas.
- Bangladesh Freedom Honour -(Bengali: বাংলাদেশ স্বাধীনতা সম্মাননা Bānglādēśa sbādhīnatā sam'mānanā); posthumously conferred on former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.
- Bangladesh Liberation War Honour -(Bengali: বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ সম্মাননা Bānglādēśa muktiyud'dha sam'mānanā); conferred to heads of states and heads of governments:
King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck
President Fidel Castro
President Pranab Mukherjee- Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral.
- Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
President Ram Baran Yadav- Prime Minister/ Acting Head of state Girija Prasad Koirala
- Prime Minister Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala
General Secretary Leonid IIyich Brezhnev- President Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny
- Prime Minister Alexei Nikolaevich Kosygin
Prime Minister Sir Edward Richard George Heath
President Marshal Josip Broz Tito
- Friends of Liberation War Honour -(Bengali: মুক্তিযুদ্ধ মৈত্রী সম্মাননা Muktiyud'dha maitrī sam'mānanā); conferred to individuals, six organisations and Mitra Bahini. The individuals include 257 Indians, 88 Americans, 41 Pakistanis, 39 Britons, 9 Russians, 18 Nepalese, 16 French and 18 Japanese. Three ceremonies were held between March 2012 and October 2012.
India
Recipients of the Param Vir Chakra:
| S. No. | Rank | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lance Naik | Albert Ekka |
| 02 | Flying Officer | Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon (Posthumously) |
| 03 | Major | Hoshiar Singh |
| 04 | Second Lieutenant | Arun Khetarpal (Posthumously) |
Recipients
Recipients
| S. no. | Rank | Name | Branch | Award Date | Awarded for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Adm | Laxminarayan Ramdass | Indian Navy | 1 December 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
| 02 | Subedar | Gurdev Singh Hans | Indian Army | 4 December 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
| 03 | Maj | Nanjappa K P | Indian Army | 5 December 1971 | Battle of Daudkandi |
| 04 | Lt Col | Raj Singh | Indian Army | 15 December 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
| 05 | Major | PK Sharma | Indian Army | 6 December 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
| 06 | Captain | Jatinder Kumar | Indian Army | Operation Cactus Lily | |
| 07 | Col | Gopal Krishna Trivedi | Indian Army | 11 December 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
| 08 | Lt Col | Satish Nambiar | Indian Army | Operation Cactus Lily | |
| 09 | Air Cmde | Jasjit Singh | Indian Air Force | 17 December 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
| 10 | Grenadier | Rafiq Khan | Indian Army | 19 December 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
| 11 | Vice Adm | Arun Prakash | Indian Navy | 21 December 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
| 12 | Squadron Leader | M A Ganapathy | Indian Air force | 1972 | Boyra Encounter (1971) |
|- | 13 | 2/LT | David A Devadasan | Indian Army - 1 MAHAR | Battle of Harar Kalan | 10/11 December 1971
Pakistan
Recipients of the Nishan-E-Haider:
- Major Muhammad Akram (posthumously)
- Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas (posthumously)
- Major Shabbir Sharif (posthumously)
- Sarwar Muhammad Hussain (posthumously)
- Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz (posthumously)
See also
- Liberation War of Bangladesh
- Bangladeshi honours system
- Military awards and decorations of Bangladesh
References
- The Bir Sreshtho বীরশ্রেষ্ঠ [The Most Valiant Hero], birsreshtho.com, archived from the original on 31 December 2020, retrieved 22 December 2015
- "Bir Protik (literally, Symbol of Bravery or Idol of Courage)" (docx). Ministry of Liberation War Affairs. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- Independence Day Award, Cabinet Division, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Haroon Habib (25 July 2011). "Bangladesh honours Indira Gandhi with highest award". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- Third druk gyalpo honored by Bangladesh Archived 24 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine thebhutanese.bt.
- "Bangladesh will remember Castro with reverence: PM". The Daily Star. Dhaka. 27 November 2016. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
- Pranab Mukherjee receives Bangladesh's second highest award Archived 31 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. NDTV.com (5 March 2013). Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- Grateful to you all: PM tells 61 friends of Liberation War from abroad Archived 2 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine The Daily Star.
- Former Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee honoured for his 1971 role: On his behalf Modi receives Bangladesh Liberation War award from Hamid, 8 June 2015, archived from the original on 29 September 2015, retrieved 29 September 2015
- "Bangladesh confers 'Liberation War Honour' to late NC president". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ Friends of freedom honoured Archived 29 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Wednesday, 28 March 2012, The Daily Star
- "B'desh honours foreign friends", The Financial Express, 28 March 2012
- "Nation honours foreign friends", The Financial Express, 21 October 2012, archived from the original on 21 January 2016, retrieved 16 December 2015
- "Martyrs". National Defense Academy, Pune. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011.
- "Param Vir Chakra". Government of India. Archived from the original on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- "Vir Chakra Awardee List". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
- Vir Chakra (VrC) Awardee: Lt Col Raj Singh, VrC, SM, The War Decorated, India, archived from the original on 6 November 2014, retrieved 30 September 2015
- "Nishan-e-Haider holders of Pakistan Army". Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- "Nishan-e-Haider". Shaheed Foundation Pakistan. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014.
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