An Unintended Start but Lasting Dedication to Serving his Evolving Country

Manzoor is contributing the story of his father's experience of serving in World War Two as part of the British Indian Army in Burma, where he fought against the Japanese.

His father, Jalal Khan (1917-2002), was born in Jhelum, Punjab, in what was then India, but is now part of Pakistan. Around 1935, when Jalal was in his late teens (about seventeen to eighteen years old), he accompanied his older brother, Lal Khan, to a British Army recruitment centre run in Dina, Jhelum, Punjab. While his elder brother Lal intended to volunteer, Jalal had no such plans at the time—he simply accompanied his brother on the visit. At the site, however, the British Army rejected his older brother for having too slight a build. Meanwhile, a recruiting officer noticed Jalal standing outside. Impressed with the teen's tall height and strong build, the recruiter wanted Lal's younger brother instead and beckoned, "bring that John... I want him"—although Jalal did not initially intend to join. (John, of course, was used in a generic sense, as the recruiter had just noticed Jalal's impressive physique and was not yet familiar with his name).

Thereafter, Jalal enrolled in the army and joined the Baloch (Baluch) Regiment in Quetta, the capital city. These British Indian soldiers were often referred to as "Jawan" (meaning young soldier or warrior). He was deployed to Burma as part of British efforts to fight the Japanese forces there. Abdul's army peers did not consist of English members of the British forces (at least in that unit), although the top commanders were British. In Burma, Jalal faced the turbulence of guerilla warfare and combat in jungles, including near the jungles of Rangoon (now known as Yangon). The combative Japanese killed many opposing soldiers and acquaintances of Jalal's. He expressed the brutality of the bloodshed he witnessed amidst the combat in jungles to his son Manzoor: "There was death everywhere... soldiers were dying left and right... we lost our friends." This hauntingly persistent reality would remain throughout his wartime deployment in Burma.

Indeed, during the latter part of the war in Burma in about 1944-1945, one of Jalal's best friends from the same village in then-India died amidst the guerilla warfare against the Japanese, becoming martyred in Burma. Jalal witnessed this death of his friend, who was named Manzoor Hussain—Jalal would ultimately name his son (this story's contributor) in honour of his martyred and fallen friend upon his son's birth about twenty years later in 1965.

Jalal's service led him to achieve the rank of Havildar, akin to the rank of sergeant. To achieve this, he had passed certain stages in a ranked hierarchy of service—1st stage: Sepoy/Sipahi (infantry/private soldier), 2nd stage: Lance Naik (lance corporal), 3rd stage: Naik (corporal), 4th stage: Havildar (sergeant). (There were/are a few higher ranks up the chain, but they are not relevant to Jalal's position).

Following the war's conclusion, the surviving members of the British Indian Army returned to India, where the soldiers received pensions and could retire as soldiers. Shortly after, the British decided to free India and partition the territory into two states—which would become India and Pakistan in 1947 (and ultimately, a further division into Bangladesh would occur in 1971).

Here is some concluding context into Jalal's life in the war's aftermath: after the British left in 1947, the newly independent governments of India and Pakistan recruited to form their own armies as new independent nations. While Jalal did not join the Army, he joined the Pakistan Rangers to serve in a semi-army border police force. He also served as a training instructor for men training to be Rangers. Subsequently, as a member of the border police force, Jalal then fought for Pakistan in three further wars: in 1948, 1965, and 1971. As a patrolling Ranger at the border, he had multiple responsibilities such as stopping illegal transportation; and he was among the first in the firing line, facing high risks of potential dangers including bullets. Suffice to say, Jalal's service in the Second World War was not the end, but the beginning, of his combat service on behalf of his evolving country. Manzoor mentioned that he could spend a long time discussing his father's feats; but as a testament to his impressive physicality and bravery, he mentioned his father's ability to walk miles on his hands.

Meanwhile, Manzoor mentioned that his father's younger brother, Nawab Khan, also served in the war. Manzoor does not know many details about this (including where he fought). His uncle Nawab passed away around 2005/2006 after his elder brother Jalal, similarly aged 85.

Jalal resided in Pakistan for the remainder of his life, passing away on the Sunday morning of October 20, 2002 at 7:30 a.m., aged 85, at home in Jhelum, the place of his birth—and in his son Manzoor's arms.