Khasru (actor)

Kamrul Alam Khan (known as Khasru) is a Bangladeshi film actor and veteran of the Bangladesh Liberation War who received the Bangladesh National Film Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2022.[1] After the independence, he starred as a Freedom Fighter in the first Bangladeshi film on the Bangladesh Liberation War, directed by Chashi Nazrul Islam titled Ora Egaro Jon.[2] Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on 14 November 2023, presented the award to him for his invaluable contributions to the industry jointly with Rozina.[3] He was a guerrilla commander of the Dhaka region during the Liberation War in 1971.[4]

Bangladesh Liberation War

In June 1970, student leaders of the Shadhin Bangla Nucleus decided to design a flag to represent a future independent Bangladesh.[5] The design featured a red sun on a dark green background, with a golden map of Bangladesh placed at the centre to counter propaganda and affirm a distinct national identity.[5] Khasru played a practical role in the making of this early version of the flag.[5] He was assigned to purchase the necessary fabric, selecting green and red cloth from a shop in New Market, Dhaka.[5] He then arranged for the flag to be stitched at a tailoring shop in the city.[5]

Following the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, Khasru received guerrilla warfare training in Dehradun, India.[6] He was part of a group of eleven freedom fighters.[6] After training, the group set up a camp near the Shitalakshya River on the outskirts of Dhaka.[6] The area was strategically important because it was close to industrial zones and key river routes.[6] He served as the commander of his group.[6] The fighters blended into the local community and observed the movements of the Pakistani army.[6] They established several camps in the region and stored arms and ammunition in an under-construction factory owned by Jahurul Islam.[6]

One of his notable operations occurred in Ruposhi, near the Shitalakshya River.[6] The Pakistani army had built bunkers near the road leading toward the Narsingdi and Sylhet highway and the road toward Cumilla and Chattogram.[6] The river area was used by patrol boats.[6] During the monsoon season, much of the land was flooded. Khasru and his team used this condition to their advantage.[6] On 7 September 1971, Khasru left his camp at Shalipur by boat with a young steersman named Sunil.[6] While passing under a bridge near the Narsingdi road, they noticed a jeep carrying armed Pakistani soldiers approaching the riverbank.[6] To avoid detection, he entered the water and hid beneath the bridge while the boat continued forward.[6] The soldiers searched the boat but did not find him.[6] After they left, he returned to the boat and continued his journey.[6] During his visit, news arrived that Pakistani forces were looting the local bazaar and detaining civilians.[6] He decided to plan an ambush.[6]

When the Pakistani patrol boats began to return, Khasru opened fire with his light machine gun.[6] According to later accounts, two of the patrol boats sank, and a third moved away with casualties on board.[6] The Pakistani forces later brought reinforcements and carried out retaliatory attacks in the area.[6] Houses were burned, and civilians were killed.[6] He had already warned many villagers to leave in anticipation of such action.[6] He relocated their base to a nearby village.[6]

Khasru later described the Ruposhi operation as one of the most significant missions of his wartime experience.[6] He has stated that his actions during the war were motivated by his commitment to Bangladesh and to its founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[6] During the first week of December 1971, Khasru and his group assisted the allied Bangladeshi and Indian forces in crossing the river on their way toward Dhaka.[6]

References

  1. ^ "National Film Awards 2022 announced". The Daily Star. 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  2. ^ Haque, Minam (2019-12-16). "One of Kamrul Alam Khan Khasru's valiant missions". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  3. ^ "PM hands over national film awards to 33 winners". New Age. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  4. ^ League, Bangladesh Awami. "March 7, 1971: Historical Events before Bangabandhu's Speech". albd.org. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  5. ^ a b c d e Bhattacharjee, Partha Pratim. "Victory Day: How Bangladesh's red and green came to be". Retrieved 2026-02-17.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "One of Kamrul Alam Khan Khasru's valiant missions | The Daily Star". www.thedailystar.net. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.