Colonel Muhammad Khan

Colonel Muhammad Khan (Urdu: کرنل محمد خان) (1910 – October 23, 1999) was a Pakistani Army veteran, humorist and writer. He also served in the Indian Army of the undivided British India and was a veteran of World War II. While serving in Pakistan Army, he wrote his first book Bajung Aamad (بجنگ آمد) which was a humorous autobiography‎. This book became extremely popular and became 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. He was the fellow of Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi, Syed Zameer Jafferi, Shafique-ur-Rehman, Hakim Mohammed Said.

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 city of Chakwal, Punjab, Pakistan. He studied in Islamia College Civil lines and when World War II broke out, he joined the British Indian Army. He served in Iraq, Egypt and Palestine. In the Libyan Desert, he valourously 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.

Books

• Bajung Aamad
• Basalamat Ravi
• Bazam Araiyan
• Badesi Mazah
• Tasneefat-e-Kernal Muhammad Khan

References