Education
Osmani was born in Sunamganj, Sylhet Division on 1 September 1918. He was a descendant of Shah Nizamuddin Osmani of Dayamir, who came to Sylhet with Hazrat Shah Jalal in 1303. Their immediate family members live in the village of Dayamir. Osmani passed matriculation from Sylhet Government Pilot School in 1934, securing 1st division marks - which was a rare feat in those times. Like many Muslim Bengali students of the era, He attended Aligarh Muslim University, India and graduated in 1938. Osmani then registered for M.A. in geography at the same institution, also took the Indian Civil Service examination as per his father's wishes and passed. The advent of World War II saw Osmani shelf his civilian career plans for the military. This was probably the only time he went against the wishes of his father.
Role in Bangladesh Liberation War
Col. Osmani was present at the house of Sheikh Mujib when Bengali officers informed Awami League leaders of the departure of Yahia Khan and army movement.[11] After failing to persuade Sheikh Mujib to go into hiding, Osmani himself hid in Dhaka until March 29, shaved off his famous mustache (he was often called the man attached to a mustache)[12] then made for the Indian border and reached the area under 2nd EBR control in Sylhet on April 4, 1971. A conference between senior Bengali officers and BSF representatives were held at Teliapara on the same day.[13] On April 10, Bengali Government in Exile at Agartola appointed Col. Osmani Commander of Bangladesh Forces. Osmani appointed 4 sector commanders: Maj. Ziaur Rahman (Chittagong area), Maj. Khaled Musharraf (Comilla), Maj. K M Shafiullah (Sylhet) and Maj. Abu Osman Chowdhury (Kushtia-Jessore). The following day 3 more sector commanders were chosen: Maj. Nazmul Huq (Rajshahi-Pabna), Captain Nawajish (Rangpur-Dinajpur) and Captain Jalil (Barisal).[14] Pakistan Army appointed Lt. Gen. A.A.K Niazi GOC East Pakistan on the same day. With the formation of Bangladesh government on 17 April 1971, retired Colonel Osmani was reinstated to active duty under the authority of Bangladesh government and appointed as Commander-in-Chief of all Bangladesh Forces. He was later promoted to the rank of full General during the 11-17 July Bangladesh Sector Commanders Conference 1971.
The Jatiya Janata Party
Osmani launched a new political party styled as Jatiya Janata Party in September 1976 and was elected its President. He contested in the presidential elections in 1978 as a nominee of the Democratic Alliance. He contested in the presidential elections once again in 1981 as a nominee of the Jatiya Nagarik Committee (National Citizens Committee).
Family life
Osmani lived as a bachelor throughout his life and had no offspring who exist today. His family home is 18 km south from Sylhet City in the village of Dayamir ps:osmany nogor. His home in the Nayarpul locality of the north-eastern city of Sylhet, from where he hails, is currently in ruins. The Government has claimed it as its official territory.
Though a bachelor all his life, Osmani was close to his relatives and family throughout his life. Most trips to Sylhet involved making visits to loved ones, and in Dhaka he would regularly welcome nephews and nieces to his residence. Within the wider family, Osmani was known for his love, but also for his temper, his passion, his glaring eyes and his military discipline. Only his Alsatians were generally disliked, and almost universally feared by visiting folk. Famously, one niece was bitten when she tried to run away from one of the Osmani Alsatians.
Death
In 1983, aged 65, Osmani was diagnosed with cancer at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka. He was immediately flown to London for treatment, at the Government's expense. He was attended to by specialists at St Bartholomew's Hospital. Most of his time in the UK was spent staying at the family home of his nephew and niece, Mashahid Ali and Sabequa Chowdhury. Both were beloved to him - the late Mashahid (Shahee) had helped Osmani in his later years by funding the establishment of his political party, the Jatiya Janata Party, following Osmani's exit from the Mujib government. Sabequa spent formative years of her childhood in Osmani's home in Sylhet, and Osmani gifted his allocated plot in Dhaka to her in the early 1970s. Osmani's days would pass with an almost endless stream of visitors, well wishers and acolytes calling on him to wish him well, to ask his guidance, or just to see him.
Though Osmani was responding favourably to the cancer treatment, in early February he deteriorated unexpectedly. The hospital diagnosed that he had been given the wrong type of blood at the CMH and that this was now infected. His demise followed immediately after, in bed on 16 February 1984 in London, aged 66. Throughout these months of treatment and convalescence, the famous fire in his eyes and the quiver in his bristly moustache stayed with him until the very end.
Following his sudden death, Osmani's body was flown to Bangladesh. The cavalcade of cars to Heathrow was provided with a special police escort which, with full diplomatic protocol, sped the entourage through the streets of London, stopping the traffic along the route. About a week after his death Osmani was buried in Darga, Sylhet with full military honours. His grave lies adjacent to his mother's.
Remembrance
Mohammed Ataul Ghani Osmani is regarded in Bangladesh as one of the greatest leaders and heroes of the nation's freedom fighters, and regarded as a brave man never afraid of laying down his life. Under his command, the organisation and conduct of Bangladesh Armed Forces came into being without whom it would have been very difficult. The international airport in his hometown of Sylhet has been named after him as Osmani Antorjatik Biman Bondor (Osmani International Airport - Sylhet). Even the state-run hospital in Sylhet is named after him, as Osmani Hospital. Also a small flock of tourists and local visitors flock to his dilapidated home in Dayamir, Sylhet to have a picnic on the huge lawn, a swim in the vast pond dug by himself, or just to admire the dilapidated house. Recently the Bangladesh Armed Forces headquarters authorised funds along with the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs for a complete renovation of his home and add more memorabilia. Every year, Osmani associations gather to hold huge ceremonies and functions, including engaging in televised discussion of General Osmani's contributions. Also the medical college situated in Sylhet is named after him, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College
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The Kaiser Willys Jeep Wagon used by Osmani to visit the war fronts during the war.
