Abdul Haleem Chowdhury Jewel (the name is also spelled Chaudri sometimes) was a gifted cricketer from Bangladesh who regularly played first class cricket in the 1960s for different teams in what was then called East Pakistan. But when he heard the call of his motherland for freedom, he was among the first to lay down his bat and pick up a rifle to fight for independence.
He went on to become a folk hero whose story inspired many others to make sacrifices to build the nation of Bangladesh. Following his execution, he came to be known in the annals of the freedom struggle as “Shaheed Jewel.”
He made his first-class debut in May 1966, and represented Dhaka (then called Dacca) against the team from the Public Works Department. Overall, in 7 first-class matches, he scored 259 runs at an average of 21.58. His best performance in first-class cricket came in 1971. He played for East Pakistan Whites against Dacca University and scored 47 and 65 in the match.
But that was perhaps the last important cricket match that he played in his life. Within a few weeks, he joined the movement for gaining freedom of Bangladesh and readily gave up his cricket career, not sparing a thought about what lay ahead of him. “My country needs freedom. That must come first. Cricket will follow later,” he said.
He picked up a rifle and proved to be as skilful in using it as he had been with the bat. He became a member of the legendary Crack Platoon which was a highly trained and specialized commando unit of the Mukti Bahini. They were led by a commando named Major Khaled Mosharraf. The officer who had served in the Pakistan army before involving himself in the Bangladesh freedom struggle, was an experienced and able leader. He and his band of highly motivated fighters carried out guerilla actions from deep within the jungles of Melaghar.
The Crack Platoon of the Mukti Bahini used guerrilla warfare tactics to fight against the Pakistan Army. India provided arms support to the Mukti Bahini. As the battles increased, almost ten million inhabitants of the land fled across the border and escaped into West Bengal, Tripura and other Indian states. Haleem went into hiding as the Pakistan army launched a massive countrywide manhunt for the commandos of the Crack Platoon.
Many years later his sister Suraiya Khanam recalled that in those days he used to change his appearance from time to time to disguise himself. On one occasion when he returned home, he had grown his beard very long and was wearing a lungi. In his hands he was carrying a grocery bag full of grenades and handguns. He took part in Operation Farmgate which was a highly successful attack and proved to be a huge setback for the Pakistan army.
Finally it was his wish to see his mother that led to his downfall. The super commando returned home to see his mother and spent that night chatting with old childhood friends. But it is quite likely that one or two of them were only pretending to be his friends. It is not known who was the traitor who gave him away. Because the Razakars got the news of his presence there and swooped down upon him. One of his friends had betrayed Haleem and passed on the news of his arrival to his enemies.
He was captured along with a few other freedom fighters. The prisoners were tortured to extract information. His parents ran from pillar to post and tried to use influence to have him freed from custody. But he was a man who had been involved in many commando actions and the police refused to set him free. On August 25, 1971, he was executed and buried in an unmarked grave. His family came to know much later that he was no more.
According to his sister who used to play cricket with him when they were children, Haleem was a boy who loved to play cricket all the time. He always dreamed of becoming a great cricketer one day. He had exceptional talent too. If he had not sacrificed his life for his motherland, he could have become a famous cricketer, she says. But the call of patriotism was too strong for him and he responded with heroism and determination. He made his family and his nation proud.
After Bangladesh became independent, Haleem was honoured with the Bir Bikrom award by the Government of Bangladesh. It is the third-highest gallantry award of the country and was introduced after liberation to honour the freedom fighters who had given up their lives to provide independence to their country. A section of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur near Dhaka, which has hosted many cricket matches, is named after Haleem as the Shaheed Jewel Stand.
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