Abdul hamid gazi Elias
Pachabdi Gazi was a very much skilled tiger hunter in the mangrove forest of
Sunderbans in Bangladesh. But he is not known to the people properly. He was born in 1923/24 on the bank of the river Khelpotua in a village called Gabura( 10 no Shora) in Satkhira, Bangladesh.
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| pachabdi gazi |
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He hunted 56 ferocious tigers in his life and 20 of them were man-eaters. He is called the Jim Corbett of Bangladesh. His forefathers were tiger hunters also. In his childhood he wanted to be honey seeker because in Sunderbans many honey combs are found and many people are involved in this honey seeking occupation. Beside Pachabdi’s village the Khelpotua river flowed and in the opposite side was the Sunderbans. Sometimes they could here the frightened calling of spotted deer, in mid night most rarely sometimes the roaring and growling of tigers could be heard that vibrated the heart and mind of the village people. like other children Pachabdi started going to Kholshapuri Primary School but he couldn’t continue it .
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| Pachabdi Gazis village home in gabura |
He played with the other same aged children various kind of games, did many naughtiness that was very simple for a boy of his age in that area. in these way gradually the days of a boy named ‘Pocha’ was passing by and he was growing adult.
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| pachabdi gazi with his brother hashem |
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Kinu Sheikh was Moniruddin sheikh’s son who was named kinu gazi after he hunted tiger. He and his three brothers’ Ismail, Pachu and Jhoru used to hunt tigers and it was there occupation. But Pachu and Jhoru returned to farming and honey seeking occupation because they didn’t like hunting tiger more. We’ve gotten news that Kinu Gazi hunted 97 tigers and was died by tiger. He was
Pachabdi Gazi’s grandfather. His brother Ismail Gazi was also a skilled tiger hunter and died by tiger. Kinu Gazi had 8 sons. Two of them was Nijamdi Gazi and Meher Ali Gazi. Meher Ali Gazi was
Pachabdi Gazi’s father. They was very much efficient tiger hunters. Meher Ali killed 62 tigers in his time and
Pachabdi Gazi coated him as the greatest tiger hunter of the Sunderbans ever. Nijamdi Gazi hunted 32 tigers. In a hunting mission at ‘golkhali’ they went together when Pachabdi Gazi was 18/19 aged Youngman. The tiger suddenly attacked them behind a bunch of tiger ferns. The tiger replaced the most portions of Meher Ali Gazi and cut down Nijamdi gazi’s one hand forever.
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| D.F.O Abdul Alim with two tiger calves |
Pachabdi Gazi became a hunter after the tiger of Golkhali attacked his father. The tiger of Golkhali was his first prey. After hunting more tigers the forest department of Pakistan got him registered as a hunter. When a tiger became man eater the forest department called him and his father to kill that tiger which became a rick for the forest working people. Because Bangladesh government got a huge revenue from the forest. And when a tiger became man eater in an specific area the forest workers including honey seekers, fishermen, and other workers. They didn’t want to work no more. So a hunter was needed to resume the working in that area. Pachabdi Gazi was the best for that work in his time. Pachabdi Gazi got the support of divisional forest officer (DFO) professor Abdul Alim in many regards.
Pachabdi Gazi was broadcasted throughout the Germany and France media a few when he guided some foreign diplomats and journalists to the tigers of Sunderbans. In Pakistani period many army officers, major, governors, presidents, diplomats of the UN visited Sunderbans for hunting tigers, crocodiles, wild boars and deers.
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| Pachabdi Gazi with Mr. Sean Flayen after hunting a big tiger |
Then the forest department called Pachabdi Gazi to guide them through the forest to their desired hunt. Pakistani president Aiyub Khan, his son Gowhor Aiyub khan, governor Monayem khan visited Sunderbans for hunting and Pachabdi Gazi was with them to serve them. To arrange a big game safari in Africa the hunters need a white hunter to take care of them and to serve them. When Nepal’s president king Mahindra visited Sunderbans with his family in Pachabdi acted like a white hunter.
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| pachabdi gazi roaring |
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Renowned hunter Tahawar Ali Khan coated Pachabdi Gazi and his father Meher Ali Gazi in his renowned book “royal Bengal tigers of the Sunderbans”. Another popular writer and historian A.F.M Abdul Jalil has described the history of Pachabdi Gazis family in his book “the history of Sunderbans”. In the Bangladeshi period Khoshru Chowdhuri and Humayun Khan brought Pachabdi Gazi to the light by publishing his book with the help of publisher Kazi Anwer Hussain. Sub-writer Humayun Khan wrote the ‘Man-eaters of the Sunderbans” as Pachabdi Gazi described in November 1980 to make a huge publicity of Pachabdi to the Bangladeshi people. Many daily and weekly newspapers and magazines did there duties strongly.
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| pachabdi with interpreter kalam |
Personally Pachabdi Gazi was a gentle man and very much egoistic. He used to talk meekly and he was a medium shaped bearded man. In 1968 he got the certificate“Sanad-e-khidmat” by President Marshall Aiyub Khan for his service to the nation.
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| Pachabdi Gazi came to Dhaka before his death to withdraw his pension money |
For three generations his family used to hunt tigers,those who joined this occupation had to die by tiger’s hand. Pachabdi Gazi was the first man in his family to die a simple death on 12th October 1997 in his village Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira.
Popular naturalist Shorif Khan ha said about Pachabdi Gazi that: Pachabdi Gazi was greater tiger hunter than Jim Corbett. if he could be published through the world properly he would be with john hunter and Jim Corbett. In other countries the president would send a corrigenda letter after the death of a man like him.
