M. A. G. Osmani, Bangladeshi general (b. 1918)
Muhammad Ataul Goni Osmani (Bengali: মুহাম্মদ আতাউল গণি ওসমানী; 1 September 1918 – 16 February 1984), also known as Bangabir (the Hero of Bengal), was a Bengali military leader. He served as Commander-in-chief of Bangladesh Forces during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence. Osmani's career spanned five decades, beginning with service in the British Indian Army in 1939. He fought in Burma during World War II. After the partition of India in 1947, he joined the Pakistan Army and served in the East Bengal Regiment. He left the Pakistan Army as a colonel in 1967. Osmani joined the wartime Government of Bangladesh in 1971 as its chief military commander. He is regarded as the founder of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. After the war of 1971, Osmani retired as a four star general from the Bangladesh Army in 1972.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, who was the country's military dictator at the time. Osmani died in London in 1984 and was buried in his hometown of Sylhet.