REMEMBERING REAR ADMIRAL MAHBUB ALI KHAN ON HIS 86TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

- November 01, 2020

Salute Thee

Oh! Noble Son of the Soil

And Vanguard of the Sea.

Rear Admiral Mahbub Ali Khan was a symbol of honesty, integrity, hard work and dedication. We remember him for his ideals and principles on his 86th birth anniversary today. His love for his work was incomparable. He loved the blue seas, loved to serve in the huge Naval ships. He was the architect of the modern Bangladesh Navy.

[Rear Admiral M A Khan inspecting the guard of honor by Armed Forces of China]

[Rear Admiral M A Khan inspecting the guard of honor by the Chinese Navy]

[Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral MA Khan greets President Ziaur Rahman at the Naval exercise program]

[Rear Admiral MA Khan and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Ziaur Rahman are receiving the salute in the naval parade]

[M.A.Khan and navy personnel are with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Ziaur Rahman]

[M.A.Khan and senior navy officers are with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Ziaur Rahman]

[Rear Admiral M A Khan with President Ziaur Rahman]

Rear Admiral Mahbub Ali Khan's untimely demise brought gloom in Bangladesh Navy. The feelings of his fellow officers and sailors can be expressed by the poem written by the poet Walt Whitman.

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

[Tribute of foreign ambassadors on the coffin of late Rear Admiral M A Khan]

[Funeral prayer of late Rear Admiral M A Khan]

[Tribute of Bangladesh Armed forces on the grave of late Rear Admiral M A Khan]

Condolences poured in from all over the world. He was humble, friendly, always loving towards the people younger than him and ever so respectful to his elders. These qualities made him such an outstanding person that he was. The youths of today would be so much richer in knowledge and character if they could follow his path.