A Tribute to the Late M. M. Alam
By Dr A. Khan
Chicago, IL
One of Pakistan’s great heroes of September 1965 war, Air Commodore M.M. Alam passed away in the early morning of March 18, at PNS Shifa Hospital in Karachi. He was suffering from the ailment of lungs.
After the September 1965 War, M. M. Alam sahib emerged as Pakistan’s top scoring fighter ace . Squadron Leader Muhammad Mahmud Alam flying his favorite F-86 F-35-NA shot down nine Indian air fighters in air-to-air combat, and was also credited for two probable kills. He was the Commander of the No 11 squadron of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) . On September 7, 1965 , in the skies above Sargodha, Squadron Leader M. M. Alam downed five Indian aircraft in less than sixty seconds, and thus established a world record. He was awarded Sitara-e-Jurat for this unique feat. To recognize this accomplishment, an avenue in Gulberg, Lahore, is named as M. M. Alam road .
M. M. Alam sahib was a humble and a noble human being. He never took credit for his accomplishments. He always gave credit of his success to his teammates. He did not marry and dedicated his entire life in service to Pakistan. He tried to expose the corrupt practices in the acquisition of equipment and as a result he was penalized by then Air chief Anwar Shamim and was forced to undergo emotional and financial hardships. In contrast, PAF’s former chief, Air Marshall Nur Khan, always praised M. M. Alam’s great accomplishments and considered him to be a person of impeccable character.
In 1982, M.M. Alam retired from Pakistan Air Force (PAF) with the rank of Air Commodore. After retirement he pursued intellectual activities and became an avid reader of books. His personal library has hundreds of books. He always advised the young people to develop the reading habit. He always believed in the young generation of Pakistan. Just days before his death, in a message to the young generation, he said, “I strongly believe in our young generation, by getting educated and by enhancing their intellectual capital, they will help Pakistan to overcome all the challenges .”
Air Commodore M. M. Alam (July 6, 1935 – March 18, 2013) is survived by three brothers and three sisters. Two of his brothers are prominent academicians in the United States. Professor Muhammad Shahid Alam is an economist at Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts; and Professor Muhammad Sajjad Alam is a particle physicist at State University of New York (SUNY) , Albany, New York. Men like M. M. Alam and Nur Khan are born once in a century. May God bless M. M. Alam’s soul. Ameen.
