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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2016}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox military person
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[Rear Admiral]]
| honorific_prefix = [[Rear Admiral]]
| name = Mahbub Ali Khan
| name = Mahbub Ali Khan
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| native_name_lang = bn
| native_name_lang = bn
| image =
| image =
| office = 3rd [[Chief of Naval Staff (Bangladesh)|Chief of Naval Staff]]
| president=[[Ziaur Rahman]]<br />[[Abdus Sattar (president)|Abdus Sattar]]<br />[[A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury]]<br />[[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]]
| primeminister= [[Shah Azizur Rahman]]<br />[[Ataur Rahman Khan]]
| predecessor = [[M. H. Khan|Musharaf Husain Khan]]
| successor = [[Sultan Ahmed (Rear Admiral)|Sultan Ahmed]]
| term_start = 4 November 1979
| term_end = 6 August 1984
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1934|11|03|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1934|11|03|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[South Surma|Jalalpur]], [[Sylhet District]], [[Assam Province]], [[British Raj]]
| birth_place = [[South Surma|Jalalpur]], [[Assam Province|Assam]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1984|08|06|1934|11|03|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1984|08|06|1934|11|03|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Dhaka]], [[Bangladesh]]
| death_place = [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh
| allegiance = {{Flag icon|Pakistan}} Pakistan (till 1971)<br>{{Flag icon|Bangladesh|1971}} [[Bangladesh]] (after March 1971)
| allegiance = {{PAK}} (before 1971)<br />{{BAN}}
| branch = {{navy|Bangladesh}}
| branch = {{navy|Pakistan}}<br />{{navy|Bangladesh}}
| relations = [[M. A. G. Osmani]] (cousin)<br/>[[Ajmal Ali|Ajmal Ali Choudhury]] (cousin)<br/>[[Irene Khan]] (niece)<br/>[[Tarique Rahman]] (son-in-law)
| relations = [[M. A. G. Osmani]] (cousin)<br/>[[Ajmal Ali|Ajmal Ali Choudhury]] (cousin)<br/>[[Irene Khan]] (niece)<br/>[[Tarique Rahman]] (son-in-law)<br/>[[Zubaida Rahman]] (daughter)
| serviceyears = 1952–1971 [[Pakistan Navy]]<br>1971–1984 [[Bangladesh Navy]]
| serviceyears = 1952 - 1984
| rank = '''[[Rear Admiral]]'''
| rank = [[File:12.BNF-VADM.svg|20px]][[File:British Royal Navy (sleeves) OF-7.svg|18px]] [[Rear Admiral]]<br/>[[File:BN Rear Admiral Star Plate.svg|30px]]
| commands = *Commodore, [[BNS Umar Farooq (1976)|BNS Umar Farooq]]
[[File:12.BNF-VADM.svg|33px]] [[File:British Royal Navy (sleeves) OF-7.svg|30px]]
*Commodore, [[BNS Titumir|COMKHUL]]
[[File:BN Rear Admiral Star Plate.svg |67px]]
*[[Chief of Naval Staff (Bangladesh)|Chief of Naval Staff]]
| battles = [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]
}}
}}
'''Mahbub Ali Khan''' ({{lang-bn|মাহবুব আলী খান}}; 3 November 1934 – 6 August 1984) was a [[Bangladesh Navy]] rear admiral and the [[Chief of the Naval Staff (Bangladesh)|Chief of Naval Staff]] from 1979 till his death in 1984. He is known for his heroic actions done for his country. Under him the [[South Talpatti]] [[sandbar]] and other emerging islands in the [[Bay of Bengal]], over which both India and [[Bangladesh]] claimed sovereignty, remained under the authority of Bangladesh. He is also known for bringing down the pirates in the Bay of Bengal and was responsible for maintaining the security of the Bay and the [[Sundarbans]].
'''Mahbub Ali Khan''' ({{langx|bn|মাহবুব আলী খান}}; 3 November 1934 – 6 August 1984) was a [[Bangladesh Navy]] rear admiral and the [[Chief of the Naval Staff (Bangladesh)|chief of naval staff]] from 1979 until his death in 1984. He is known for his heroic actions for his country. Under him, the [[South Talpatti]] [[sandbar]] and other emerging islands in the [[Bay of Bengal]], over which both India and [[Bangladesh]] claimed sovereignty, remained under the authority of Bangladesh. He is also known for reducing piracy in the Bay of Bengal and was responsible for maintaining the security of the Bay and the [[Sundarbans]].


==Early life and family==
==Early life and family==
Khan was born into a wealthy [[Bengali Muslim]] [[zamindar]] family on 3 November 1934 in [[South Surma|Jalalpur]], [[Sylhet District]] (present-day [[Bangladesh]]) located in the [[British Raj]]'s [[Assam Province]]. He was the youngest child among the three children of Ahmed Ali Khan and Jubaida Khatun. Khatun was the daughter of Khan Bahadur Wasiuddin Ahmad. In 1901, Ahmad Ali Khan became the first Muslim barrister in Sylhet. Ahmad Ali Khan was also the President of the Assam Congress and represented the [[All-India Muslim League]] party as a member of the Legislative Assembly.
Khan was born into a wealthy [[Bengali Muslim]] [[zamindar]] family on 3 November 1934 in [[South Surma|Jalalpur]], [[Sylhet District]] (present-day [[Bangladesh]]) located in the [[British Raj]]'s [[Assam Province]]. He was the youngest child among the three children of Ahmed Ali Khan and Jubaida Khatun. Khatun was the daughter of Khan Bahadur Wasiuddin Ahmad. In 1901, Ahmad Ali Khan became the first Muslim barrister in Sylhet. Ahmad Ali Khan was also the president of the Assam Congress and represented the [[All-India Muslim League]] party as a member of the Legislative Assembly.


Mahbub Ali Khan's grandfather, [[Khan Bahadur]] Dr. Asaddar Ali Khan (1850-1937) was Sylhet's first Muslim civil surgeon and the son-in-law of [[Syed Ameer Ali]]. A graduate of the [[Aliah University]], Asaddar Ali Khan was also the personal physician to the Bihari Shia lawyer-politician [[Syed Hasan Imam]], the top barrister of Calcutta High Court and leader of the [[Indian National Congress]]. M.A. Khan's grand-uncle Ghazanfar Ali Khan OBE ICS was the first Muslim Cambridge graduate from Assam and Bengal.<ref>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Khan, Gaznafor Ali}}</ref> Mahbub was also the cousin of General [[M. A. G. Osmani]], the Supreme Commander of [[Bangladesh Forces]] during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], and [[Ajmal Ali|Ajmal Ali Choudhury]], a Member of the [[National Assembly of Pakistan]].
Khan's grandfather, [[Khan Bahadur]] Dr. Asaddar Ali Khan (1850–1937) was Sylhet's first Muslim civil surgeon and the son-in-law of [[Syed Ameer Ali]]. A graduate of the [[Aliah University]], he was also the personal physician to the Bihari Shia lawyer-politician [[Syed Hasan Imam]], the top barrister of the Calcutta High Court and leader of the [[Indian National Congress]]. His grand-uncle, Ghazanfar Ali Khan OBE ICS, was the first Muslim Cambridge graduate from Assam and Bengal.<ref>{{cite Banglapedia |article=Khan, Gaznafor Ali}}</ref> He was also the cousin of General [[M. A. G. Osmani]], the supreme commander of [[Bangladesh Forces]] during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], and [[Ajmal Ali|Ajmal Ali Choudhury]], a member of the [[National Assembly of Pakistan]].


Khan spent most of his childhood in the Sylhet District and the West Bengali city of [[Kolkata]]. After the [[Partition of India|formation]] of [[Pakistan]], his family moved to [[Dhaka]], the East Bengali city which had now become the new capital of the [[East Pakistan|eastern wing of Pakistan]]. He received his primary education in Kolkata and Dhaka and pursued for higher studies in [[Dhaka College]]. Later he acquired a law degree. Khan's niece is the [[Harvard]]-educated [[Irene Khan]], former head of Amnesty International.
Khan spent most of his childhood in Sylhet District and the West Bengali city of [[Kolkata]]. After the [[Partition of India|formation]] of [[Pakistan]], his family moved to [[Dhaka]], the East Bengali city which had now become the new capital of the [[East Pakistan|eastern wing of Pakistan]]. He received his primary education in Kolkata and Dhaka and pursued higher studies in [[Dhaka College]]. Later, he acquired a law degree. His niece is the [[Harvard]]-educated [[Irene Khan]], a former head of [[Amnesty International]].


==Career==
==Career==
[[Image:BRNC-Dartmouth.jpg|thumb|right|For higher naval training Khan went to finish his graduation at [[Britannia Royal Naval College]] in [[Dartmouth, Devon|Dartmouth]], England]]
For higher naval training, Khan went to finish his graduation at [[Britannia Royal Naval College]] in [[Dartmouth, Devon|Dartmouth]], England
⚫
In 1952, Khan joined the executive branch of the [[Pakistan Navy]] as a cadet. He received his training in a military school in [[Quetta]], [[West Pakistan]]. For higher training he went to finish his graduation at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England. After his graduation, he married Sayeeda Iqbal Manda Banu in 1955. They had two daughters, Shahina Khan and Zubaida Khan. On 1 May 1956, he received his standing commission. In 1960, he became the gunnery officer of PNS (Pakistani Naval Ship) ''Tughril''. In 1963, [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] awarded him for being a disciplined officer{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}. In 1964, he became the torpedo and anti-submarine officer of PNS ''Tippu Sultan''. From 1967 to 1968, he served the Pakistan Navy as the Joint Chiefs' Secretariat staff officer in the Defence Ministry in [[Rawalpindi]]. In 1970, he became the officer in charge of the torpedo and anti-submarine school in the PNS ''Himalaya'' and in [[Karachi]] he was the seaward defence officer.


⚫
During the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]] in 1971, when, East Pakistan seceded to become Bangladesh and went to war with West Pakistan for independence, Khan was still in West Pakistan. As a Bengali, his allegiance was questioned by the Pakistani government, so he and his family were kept under house arrest. After the war, with Bangladesh's victory in December 1971, he was kept under house arrest in Pakistan for a further two years until, in 1973, he managed to escape to [[Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)|Afghanistan]], from where he went to India before finally returning to Bangladesh.
⚫
In 1952 Khan joined the executive branch of the Pakistan Navy as a cadet. Khan received his training as a cadet in a military school in [[Quetta]] of West Pakistan. For higher training he went to finish his graduation at [[Britannia Royal Naval College]] in [[Dartmouth, Devon|Dartmouth]], England. After his graduation he married Sayeeda Iqbal Manda Banu in 1955. They had two daughters – Shahina Khan and Zubaida Khan. On 1 May 1956, Khan received his standing commission. In 1960 he became the Gunnery officer of P.N.S (Pakistani Naval Ship) Tughril. In 1963, [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] awarded him for being a disciplined officer{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}. In 1964 he became the torpedo and anti-submarine officer of P.N.S Tippu Sultan. From 1967 to 1968 he served the [[Pakistan Navy]] as the Joint Chiefs’ Secretariat Staff officer in the Defence Ministry in [[Rawalpindi]] of West Pakistan. In 1970 he became the officer in charge of the torpedo and anti-submarine school in the P.N.S Himalaya and in the West Pakistani city of [[Karachi]] he served as the Seaward defence officer.


⚫
In Bangladesh, during the premiership of [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]], Khan was the first Bengali to be appointed as the commandant of the Mercantile Academy of Chittagong in October 1973. After Rahman resigned as prime minister and took over the presidency for the second time in January 1975, Bangladesh was transformed into a one-party presidential republic with the president acting as the head of both the state and government. After the [[Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman|assassination of Rahman]] by some junior officers of the Bangladesh Army in August 1975, martial law was imposed in the country by [[Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad]], who had been installed as the new president by the junior army officers who carried out the assassination. After the [[3 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état|3 November 1975 military coup]] forced Ahmed and his chief of army staff, Major General [[Ziaur Rahman]], to resign, [[7 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état|a counter-coup four days later]] saw Major General Zia re-instated as the chief of army staff, who then took over the government of the country, already under martial law, as a deputy chief martial law administrator under the new president, [[Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem]]. Under Zia's regime, Khan become the assistant chief of naval staff ([[Military operation|operations]] and personnel) of the [[Bangladesh Navy]] in February 1976. In December 1976, the [[Royal Navy]] of the United Kingdom sold a Salisbury class frigate to Bangladesh which came to be known as [[BNS Umar Farooq (1976)|BNS ''Umar Farooq'']]. The ship arrived in Bangladesh on 27 March 1977. Khan became its captain and with the ship he travelled to ports in [[Algeria]], [[Yugoslavia]], [[Egypt]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Sri Lanka]]. After Major General Zia became president in April 1977, Khan became the [[Chief of the Naval Staff (Bangladesh)|chief of naval staff]] of the Bangladesh Navy on 4 November 1979. He was promoted to the rank of [[rear admiral]] on 1 January 1980 .
⚫
During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, when East Pakistan seceded to become Bangladesh and went to war with West Pakistan for independence, Khan, at that time, was still staying in West Pakistan. Due to being a Bengali, Khan's allegiance was questioned by the Pakistani government, and so Khan and his family were kept under house arrest by the Pakistan authorities. After the war was over with Bangladesh's victory in December 1971, Khan was still kept under house arrest in Pakistan for a further two years until in 1973 he managed to escape from Pakistan to [[Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)|Afghanistan]], from there he went to India before finally getting back to his homeland, Bangladesh.


⚫
As the naval chief, Khan worked hard to modernise the Bangladesh Navy. In the aftermath of the [[Bhola cyclone]] in 1970, a small uninhabited offshore sandbar landform called the South Talpatti sandbar emerged in the Bay of Bengal. Although it was uninhabited and there were no permanent settlements or stations located in the sandbar, both India and Bangladesh claimed sovereignty because of speculation over the existence of oil and natural gas in the region. Under Khan, the sandbar remained under Bangladeshi authority. The Bangladesh Navy, under Khan, was also able to bring down many pirates who were operating in the Bay of Bengal. He also took measures to maintain the security of the Sundarbans.
⚫
Now in Bangladesh, during the premiership of [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]], Khan became the first Bengali to be appointed as the commandant of the Mercantile Academy of Chittagong in October 1973. After Sheikh Mujib resigned as prime minister and took over the presidency for the second time in January 1975, Bangladesh transformed into a one-party presidential republic with the president acting as the head of both the state and government. After [[Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman|President Sheikh Mujib was assassinated by some rogue junior officers of the Bangladesh Army in August 1975]], martial law was imposed in the country by [[Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad]], who had been installed as the new president of the country by the junior army officers who carried out President Mujib's assassination. [[3 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état|On 3 November 1975, after a military coup]] forced President Mostaq Ahmed and his Chief of Army Staff, Major General [[Ziaur Rahman]] to resign, [[7 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état|a counter-coup four days later]] saw Major General Zia re-instated as the Chief of Army Staff, who then took over the government of the country, already under martial law, as a deputy chief martial law administrator under the new president, [[Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem]]. Zia's regime saw Rear Admiral Khan become the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff ([[Military operation|Operations]] and Personnel) of the [[Bangladesh Navy]] in February 1976. In December 1976 the [[Royal Navy]] of the United Kingdom sold a Salisbury class frigate to Bangladesh which came to be known as [[BNS Umar Farooq (1976)|BNS (Bangladeshi Naval Ship) ''Umar Farooq'']]. The ship arrived in Bangladesh on 27 March 1977. Khan became the captain of the BNS ''Umar Farooq'' and with this ship he travelled to the ports of [[Algeria]], [[Yugoslavia]], [[Egypt]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Sri Lanka]]. After Major General Zia became President in April 1977, Khan became the [[Chief of the Naval Staff (Bangladesh)|Chief of Naval Staff]] of the Bangladesh Navy on 4 November 1979. Later, he was elevated to the rank of [[rear admiral]] on 1 January 1980 .


⚫
During the presidency of Rahman, besides being the head of the navy, Khan was the minister of telecommunications. He was also a member of Zia's temporarily formed political party called [[Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal|JaGoDal]]. After reintroducing a multi-party democratic system in the country, Zia retired from the army and stepped down as the chief of army staff in April 1978 with the rank of [[lieutenant general]]. In September 1978, President Zia founded a new political party known as the [[Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)|Bangladesh Nationalist Party]]. After winning the [[1979 Bangladeshi general election|1979 general election]] and democratically legitimizing his position as president, Zia lifted the martial law that had been in effect in the country since 1975. However, after [[Assassination of Ziaur Rahman|President Zia was assassinated]] by some members of the army in a failed coup d'état in May 1981, martial law was again imposed a year later after Zia's chief of army staff, General [[Hussain Mohammad Ershad]], took over the government as chief martial law administrator by overthrowing the civilian government of Zia's vice-president and successor, President [[Abdus Sattar (president)|Abdus Sattar]], in a [[1982 Bangladeshi coup d'état|bloodless coup on 24 March 1982]]. As the chief martial law administrator, Ershad installed a retired judge,[[A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury]], as president on 27 March 1982. Under this regime, Khan was appointed a deputy chief martial law administrator.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Manik |first1=Julfikar Ali |last2=Sarkar |first2=Ashutosh |date=2010-08-27 |title=Ershad's takeover also illegal |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-152462 |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=The Daily Star}}</ref> At that time, he also became an adviser in the [[Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology|Ministry of Communications]]; he was made a minister of that ministry on 10 July 1982. Even after General Ershad took over the presidency in December 1983, Khan continued in this ministerial role in the Ministry of Communications until 1 June 1984.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mahbub Ali Khan |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/mahbub-ali-khan-35977 |work=The Daily Star |access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> During Ershad's presidency, the chief of naval staff was also the [[Ministry of Agriculture (Bangladesh)|minister of agriculture]] until his death.
⚫
As the naval chief, Rear Admiral Khan worked hard to modernise the Bangladesh Navy. In the aftermath of the [[Bhola cyclone]] in 1970, a small uninhabited offshore sandbar landform called the [[South Talpatti]] [[sandbar]] emerged in the Bay of Bengal. Although [[South Talpatti]] was uninhabited and there were no permanent settlement or station located in the sandbar, both India and Bangladesh claimed sovereignty over it because of speculation over the existence of oil and natural gas in the region. Under Khan, the sandbar remained under Bangladeshi authority. The Bangladesh Navy, under Khan, was also able to bring down many pirates that were operating in the Bay of Bengal. Khan also took possible measures to maintain the security of the Sundarbans.

⚫
During the presidency of [[Ziaur Rahman]], besides being the head of the navy, Khan also served as the minister of telecommunications. Khan was also a member of President Zia's temporarily formed political party called [[Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal|JaGoDal]]. After reintroducing multi-party democratic system in the country, President Zia retired from the army and stepped down as the Chief of Army Staff in April 1978 with the rank of [[lieutenant general]]. In September 1978, President Zia founded a new political party known as the [[Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)]]. After winning the [[1979 Bangladeshi general election|1979 general election]] and democratically legitimizing his position as president, Zia lifted the martial law that had been in effect in the country since 1975. However, after [[Assassination of Ziaur Rahman|President Zia was assassinated by some members of the army in a failed coup d'état in May 1981]], martial law was again imposed a year later after Zia's Chief of Army Staff, General [[Hussain Mohammad Ershad]] took over the government as chief martial law administrator by overthrowing the civilian government of Zia's vice-president and successor, President [[Abdus Sattar]] in a [[1982 Bangladeshi coup d'état|bloodless coup on 24 March 1982]]. As the chief martial law administrator, General Ershad installed a retired judge named [[A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury]] as the new president of the country on 27 March 1982. Under this new regime, Rear Admiral Khan was appointed as a deputy chief martial law administrator.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Manik |first1=Julfikar Ali |last2=Sarkar |first2=Ashutosh |date=2010-08-27 |title=Ershad's takeover also illegal |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-152462 |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref> At that time, he also became an adviser in the [[Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology|Ministry of Communications]]; Khan was later made a minister of that ministry on 10 July 1982. Even after General Ershad took over the presidency in December 1983, Rear Admiral Khan continued to serve in this ministerial role in the Ministry of Communications till 1 June 1984.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mahbub Ali Khan|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/mahbub-ali-khan-35977|work=The Daily Star|access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> During Ershad's presidency, the Chief of Naval Staff also served as the [[Ministry of Agriculture (Bangladesh)|Minister of Agriculture]] till his death.


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Rear Admiral Khan was married to [[Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |author=Staff Correspondent |title=Tarique's wife Zubaida fired from work |url=https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/tariques-wife-zubaida-fired-from-work |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=bdnews24.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Photo Gallery |url=https://www.iqbalmandbanu.com/2020/12/photo-gallery.html |access-date=2022-11-01 |language=en}}</ref> Their youngest daughter, Zubaida Rahman married [[Tarique Rahman]], the eldest of the two sons of Late President [[Ziaur Rahman]] and Former Prime Minister [[Khaleda Zia]], in 1993.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tarique's wife Zubaida fired from work|url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2014/09/01/tariques-wife-zubaida-fired-from-work|work=bdnews24.com|access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref>
Khan was married to [[Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu]].<ref name=wife>{{Cite web |title=Tarique's wife Zubaida fired from work |url=https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/tariques-wife-zubaida-fired-from-work |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=BDNews24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Photo Gallery |url=https://www.iqbalmandbanu.com/2020/12/photo-gallery.html |access-date=2022-11-01}}</ref> Their youngest daughter, [[Zubaida Rahman]] married [[Tarique Rahman]], the eldest Rahman's two sons and the former prime minister [[Khaleda Zia]], in 1993.<ref name=wife/>


==Death==
==Death==
[[Image:TejgaonAirport.jpg|thumb|right|Mahbub Ali Khan had a heart attack in the then [[Dhaka International Airport]], while investigating an air crash in the airport area.]]
[[Image:TejgaonAirport.jpg|thumb|right|Khan had a heart attack in the then [[Dhaka International Airport]], while investigating an air crash in the airport area]]
On 6 August 1984, Khan went to the then [[Dhaka International Airport]] in Dhaka to investigate an air crash in that area. There, while investigating the air crash, Khan had a heart attack and he was taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), where he died at the age of 49. His burial place is at the Banani defence graveyard in Dhaka.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Staff Correspondent |date=2012-08-06 |title=Mahbub Ali Khan |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-245045 |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref>
On 6 August 1984, Khan went to the then [[Dhaka International Airport]] in Dhaka to investigate an air crash. While investigating the air crash, he had a heart attack and was taken to the Combined Military Hospital where he died at the age of 49. His burial place is at the Banani defence graveyard in Dhaka.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-08-06 |title=Mahbub Ali Khan |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-245045 |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=The Daily Star}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Pakistan Navy officers]]
[[Category:Pakistan Navy officers]]
[[Category:People from Dakshin Surma Upazila]]
[[Category:People from Dakshin Surma Upazila]]
[[Category:Road Transport and Bridges ministers of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Politicians from Sylhet Division]]
[[Category:Ministers of road transport and bridges of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi people of Afghan descent]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi people of Afghan descent]]

Latest revision as of 12:54, 28 December 2024

This article is about the Bangladeshi former chief of naval staff. For the sixth ruler of Hyderabad State, see Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI.

Rear Admiral
Mahbub Ali Khan
মাহবুব আলী খান
3rd Chief of Naval Staff
In office
4 November 1979 – 6 August 1984
PresidentZiaur Rahman
Abdus Sattar
A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury
Hussain Muhammad Ershad
Prime MinisterShah Azizur Rahman
Ataur Rahman Khan
Preceded byMusharaf Husain Khan
Succeeded bySultan Ahmed
Personal details
Born(1934-11-03)3 November 1934
Jalalpur, Assam, British India
Died6 August 1984(1984-08-06) (aged 49)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
RelationsM. A. G. Osmani (cousin)
Ajmal Ali Choudhury (cousin)
Irene Khan (niece)
Tarique Rahman (son-in-law)
Zubaida Rahman (daughter)
Military service
Allegiance Pakistan (before 1971)
 Bangladesh
Branch/service Pakistan Navy
 Bangladesh Navy
Years of service1952 - 1984
Rank Rear Admiral
Commands
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965

Mahbub Ali Khan (Bengali: মাহবুব আলী খান; 3 November 1934 – 6 August 1984) was a Bangladesh Navy rear admiral and the chief of naval staff from 1979 until his death in 1984. He is known for his heroic actions for his country. Under him, the South Talpatti sandbar and other emerging islands in the Bay of Bengal, over which both India and Bangladesh claimed sovereignty, remained under the authority of Bangladesh. He is also known for reducing piracy in the Bay of Bengal and was responsible for maintaining the security of the Bay and the Sundarbans.

Early life and family

[edit]

Khan was born into a wealthy Bengali Muslim zamindar family on 3 November 1934 in Jalalpur, Sylhet District (present-day Bangladesh) located in the British Raj's Assam Province. He was the youngest child among the three children of Ahmed Ali Khan and Jubaida Khatun. Khatun was the daughter of Khan Bahadur Wasiuddin Ahmad. In 1901, Ahmad Ali Khan became the first Muslim barrister in Sylhet. Ahmad Ali Khan was also the president of the Assam Congress and represented the All-India Muslim League party as a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Khan's grandfather, Khan Bahadur Dr. Asaddar Ali Khan (1850–1937) was Sylhet's first Muslim civil surgeon and the son-in-law of Syed Ameer Ali. A graduate of the Aliah University, he was also the personal physician to the Bihari Shia lawyer-politician Syed Hasan Imam, the top barrister of the Calcutta High Court and leader of the Indian National Congress. His grand-uncle, Ghazanfar Ali Khan OBE ICS, was the first Muslim Cambridge graduate from Assam and Bengal.[1] He was also the cousin of General M. A. G. Osmani, the supreme commander of Bangladesh Forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War, and Ajmal Ali Choudhury, a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan.

Khan spent most of his childhood in Sylhet District and the West Bengali city of Kolkata. After the formation of Pakistan, his family moved to Dhaka, the East Bengali city which had now become the new capital of the eastern wing of Pakistan. He received his primary education in Kolkata and Dhaka and pursued higher studies in Dhaka College. Later, he acquired a law degree. His niece is the Harvard-educated Irene Khan, a former head of Amnesty International.

Career

[edit]

For higher naval training, Khan went to finish his graduation at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England In 1952, Khan joined the executive branch of the Pakistan Navy as a cadet. He received his training in a military school in Quetta, West Pakistan. For higher training he went to finish his graduation at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England. After his graduation, he married Sayeeda Iqbal Manda Banu in 1955. They had two daughters, Shahina Khan and Zubaida Khan. On 1 May 1956, he received his standing commission. In 1960, he became the gunnery officer of PNS (Pakistani Naval Ship) Tughril. In 1963, Queen Elizabeth II awarded him for being a disciplined officer[citation needed]. In 1964, he became the torpedo and anti-submarine officer of PNS Tippu Sultan. From 1967 to 1968, he served the Pakistan Navy as the Joint Chiefs' Secretariat staff officer in the Defence Ministry in Rawalpindi. In 1970, he became the officer in charge of the torpedo and anti-submarine school in the PNS Himalaya and in Karachi he was the seaward defence officer.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, when, East Pakistan seceded to become Bangladesh and went to war with West Pakistan for independence, Khan was still in West Pakistan. As a Bengali, his allegiance was questioned by the Pakistani government, so he and his family were kept under house arrest. After the war, with Bangladesh's victory in December 1971, he was kept under house arrest in Pakistan for a further two years until, in 1973, he managed to escape to Afghanistan, from where he went to India before finally returning to Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, during the premiership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Khan was the first Bengali to be appointed as the commandant of the Mercantile Academy of Chittagong in October 1973. After Rahman resigned as prime minister and took over the presidency for the second time in January 1975, Bangladesh was transformed into a one-party presidential republic with the president acting as the head of both the state and government. After the assassination of Rahman by some junior officers of the Bangladesh Army in August 1975, martial law was imposed in the country by Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, who had been installed as the new president by the junior army officers who carried out the assassination. After the 3 November 1975 military coup forced Ahmed and his chief of army staff, Major General Ziaur Rahman, to resign, a counter-coup four days later saw Major General Zia re-instated as the chief of army staff, who then took over the government of the country, already under martial law, as a deputy chief martial law administrator under the new president, Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem. Under Zia's regime, Khan become the assistant chief of naval staff (operations and personnel) of the Bangladesh Navy in February 1976. In December 1976, the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom sold a Salisbury class frigate to Bangladesh which came to be known as BNS Umar Farooq. The ship arrived in Bangladesh on 27 March 1977. Khan became its captain and with the ship he travelled to ports in Algeria, Yugoslavia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka. After Major General Zia became president in April 1977, Khan became the chief of naval staff of the Bangladesh Navy on 4 November 1979. He was promoted to the rank of rear admiral on 1 January 1980 .

As the naval chief, Khan worked hard to modernise the Bangladesh Navy. In the aftermath of the Bhola cyclone in 1970, a small uninhabited offshore sandbar landform called the South Talpatti sandbar emerged in the Bay of Bengal. Although it was uninhabited and there were no permanent settlements or stations located in the sandbar, both India and Bangladesh claimed sovereignty because of speculation over the existence of oil and natural gas in the region. Under Khan, the sandbar remained under Bangladeshi authority. The Bangladesh Navy, under Khan, was also able to bring down many pirates who were operating in the Bay of Bengal. He also took measures to maintain the security of the Sundarbans.

During the presidency of Rahman, besides being the head of the navy, Khan was the minister of telecommunications. He was also a member of Zia's temporarily formed political party called JaGoDal. After reintroducing a multi-party democratic system in the country, Zia retired from the army and stepped down as the chief of army staff in April 1978 with the rank of lieutenant general. In September 1978, President Zia founded a new political party known as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. After winning the 1979 general election and democratically legitimizing his position as president, Zia lifted the martial law that had been in effect in the country since 1975. However, after President Zia was assassinated by some members of the army in a failed coup d'état in May 1981, martial law was again imposed a year later after Zia's chief of army staff, General Hussain Mohammad Ershad, took over the government as chief martial law administrator by overthrowing the civilian government of Zia's vice-president and successor, President Abdus Sattar, in a bloodless coup on 24 March 1982. As the chief martial law administrator, Ershad installed a retired judge,A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury, as president on 27 March 1982. Under this regime, Khan was appointed a deputy chief martial law administrator.[2] At that time, he also became an adviser in the Ministry of Communications; he was made a minister of that ministry on 10 July 1982. Even after General Ershad took over the presidency in December 1983, Khan continued in this ministerial role in the Ministry of Communications until 1 June 1984.[3] During Ershad's presidency, the chief of naval staff was also the minister of agriculture until his death.

Personal life

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Khan was married to Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu.[4][5] Their youngest daughter, Zubaida Rahman married Tarique Rahman, the eldest Rahman's two sons and the former prime minister Khaleda Zia, in 1993.[4]

Death

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Khan had a heart attack in the then Dhaka International Airport, while investigating an air crash in the airport area

On 6 August 1984, Khan went to the then Dhaka International Airport in Dhaka to investigate an air crash. While investigating the air crash, he had a heart attack and was taken to the Combined Military Hospital where he died at the age of 49. His burial place is at the Banani defence graveyard in Dhaka.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir, eds. (2012). "Khan, Gaznafor Ali". Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  2. ^ Manik, Julfikar Ali; Sarkar, Ashutosh (27 August 2010). "Ershad's takeover also illegal". The Daily Star. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Mahbub Ali Khan". The Daily Star. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Tarique's wife Zubaida fired from work". BDNews24. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Photo Gallery". Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Mahbub Ali Khan". The Daily Star. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of Naval Staff
4 November 1979 - 6 August 1984 		Succeeded by
Rear Admiral Sultan Ahmed
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