Mohammad Usman
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Brigadier Mohammad Usman MVC "Nowshera ka Sher" |
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| Born |
15 July 1912 Bibipur, Mau district, United Provinces, British India |
| Died | 3 July 1948 Nowshera, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Allegiance |
 British India Dominion of India
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| Service/branch |
 British Indian Army Indian Army
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| Years of service | 1934–1948 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier
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| Unit |
 10th Baluch Regiment Dogra Regiment
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| Commands held |
50 Para Brigade 77 Para Brigade 14/10 Baluch |
| Battles/wars | Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 |
| Awards |
 Maha Vir Chakra
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Brigadier Mohammad Usman, MVC (15 July 1912 – 3 July 1948) (also known as Usman Mohammad) was the highest ranking officer of the Indian Army killed in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. As a Muslim, Usman became a symbol of India's "inclusive secularism". At the time of the partition of India he with many other Muslim officers declined to move to the Pakistan Army and continued to serve with the Indian Army. He was killed in July 1948 while fighting Pakistani soldiers and militia in Jammu and Kashmir. He was later awarded the second highest military decoration for gallantry in the face of enemy, the Maha Vir Chakra
Mohammad Usman was born in Bibipur, Mau district, United Provinces, British India on July 15, 1912 to Jamilun Bibi and Mohammad Faqooq Khunambir. Usman and his younger brothers, Subhan and Gufran, were educated at Harish Chandra Bhai School, Varanasi. At the age of 12, he had jumped into a well to rescue a drowning child.
Usman later made up his mind to join the Army, and despite the limited opportunities for Indians to get commissioned ranks and despite intense competition, he succeeded in gaining admission to the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS). He entered RMAS in 1932, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and appointed to the Unattached List for the Indian Army on 1 February 1934. He was attached in India to the 1st battalion of the Cameronians on 12 March 1934 for a year.
At the end of his year with the Cameronians, on the 19 March 1935, he was appointed to the Indian Army and posted to the 5th battalion of the 10th Baluch Regiment (5/10 Baluch). Later in the year he saw active service on the North-West Frontier of India during the Mohmand campaign of 1935. He qualified as a 1st class interpreter in Urdu in November 1935.
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