General M.A.G. Osmani—widely revered as Bangabir (Hero of Bengal)—was the Commander-in-Chief of the Mukti Bahini (Liberation Forces) during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and is honoured as the founding father of Bangladesh’s Armed Forces.

Born on 1 September 1918 in Sunamganj, Sylhet, Osmani was commissioned into the British Indian Army in 1939. He served with distinction in the Burma Campaign during World War II, rising to the rank of Major. After the Partition of the Indian Subcontinent in 1947, he joined the Pakistan Army, where he eventually attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring in February 1967.

With the outbreak of war in 1971, the Provisional Government of Bangladesh appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Mukti Bahini and the Bangladesh Forces in April 1971. Under his leadership, Bangladesh’s armed resistance was organised and made an immense contribution to the nation’s ultimate victory. On 7 April 1972, he was promoted as Bangladesh’s first four-star General, overseeing the formal establishment of the Bangladesh Army, Navy, and Air Force.

General Osmani passed away on 16 February 1984. His legacy endures through numerous institutions that bear his name, including the Sylhet Osmani International Airport, Osmani Medical College, the Osmani Museum, and the Osmani Centre for Peace and Security Studies.