Muhammad Khan (colonel)

Colonel

Muhammad Khan
Colonel; Muhammad Khan
Native name	کرنل محمد خان
Nickname(s)	Colonel M. Khan
Born	1910; Chakwal, Punjab, British India; (now Punjab, Pakistan)
Died	23 October 1999 (aged 88–89); Chakwal, Punjab, Pakistan
Allegiance	British India (1930-47); Pakistan (1947-72)
Service / branch	British Indian Army ; Pakistan Army
Years of service	1930–1972
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Indian Army Corps of Signals, Pakistan Army Education Corps
Battles / wars	Second World War; Indo-Pakistani War of 1947; Indo-Pakistani War of 1965; Indo-Pakistani War of 1971;
Alma mater	Islamia College, Lahore
Other work	Novelist and humorist

Colonel Muhammad Khan (1910 – 23 October 1999) was an author, Pakistani army officer and a war veteran. He also served in the British Indian Army during the British Raj and was a veteran of World War II. While serving in Pakistan Army, he wrote his first book Bajung Aamad (Urdu: بجنگ آمد) which was a humorous autobiography. This book became extremely popular and one of the most famous books in Urdu literature. The success of his first book earned him critically acclaimed prominence among Urdu humorists and he is considered one of the most influential authors of this genre, along with Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi, Zamir Jafri, and Shafiq-ur-Rahman.^[1]

He is mostly known as Colonel Muhammad Khan to distinguish him from other bearers of this common name, despite his efforts to be recognised by his birth name. Later editions of his books show his name as just Muhammad Khan.

Biography

He was born as Muhammad Khan in the village of Balkasar which is a part of the city of Chakwal. He studied in Islamia College, Lahore and when World War II broke out, he joined the British Indian Army. He served in Iraq, Egypt, Palestine and in the Western Desert during the Second World War, where he valorously fought against the Germans.

He rose to fame when he surprised the literary circles through his book Bajung Aamad. It was an autobiographical account of his life as a soldier in World War II. In 1974, he went on a tour of the UK and later published his account of the UK tour in Basalamat Ravi. Later he published another book, Bazam Arayan, a collection of semi autobiographical short stories.