‘The Lion of Naushera’ Revives Brigadier Mohammad Usman’s Legacy
Book cover The Lion of Naushera, and authors Anand Mishra and Zia Us Salam (Images X.com)
Authors Anand Mishra and Ziya Us Salam’s book on Brigadier Usman — India’s only brigadier martyred in the 1947–48 war — highlights his role in saving Kashmir, rejecting Jinnah’s offer, and embodying a composite Indian nationalism.
By MANISH ANAND
NEW DELHI, August 23, 2025 — A new book The Lion of Naushera by senior journalists Anand Mishra and Ziya us Salam seeks to restore Brigadier Mohammad Usman — one of India’s greatest but forgotten war heroes — to the nation’s collective memory. Known as the “Lion of Nowshera,” Usman was the highest-ranking Indian Army officer martyred in the 1947–48 India-Pakistan war, playing a decisive role in saving Kashmir for India.
The authors, in conversation with The Raisina Hills, described the biography as both a tribute and a corrective. “Very little had been written about Brigadier Usman in English, and an envelope of ignorance surrounded his legacy,” said Salam, who writes for The Hindu group. Mishra, political editor at Frontline, stressed that the story “takes us beyond the Hindu-Muslim binary of Partition” and challenges the current wave of communal polarization in socio-political space.
Born in Azamgarh, Usman defied Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s personal offer of wealth and rank to serve Pakistan, choosing instead to remain with India. In the First Kashmir War, he commanded troops at Naushera, famously refusing to sleep on a cot until lost territory was recaptured. “His fierce resistance so unnerved Pakistani forces that they declared a bounty of ₹50,000 on his head — a staggering sum at the time,” said Salam. Usman was martyred on July 3, 1948, just days short of his 36th birthday.
The book also shines light on Usman’s human side: he fasted with his largely Hindu brigade on Tuesdays to foster unity, donated part of his salary for education of the poor, and insisted his troops greet each other with “Jai Hind” instead of religious salutations.
“While Mondays and Thursdays are known to be days of fast in Islamic traditions, Brigadier Usman opted for Tuesday because his Dogra regiment largely consisted of Hindus,” said Salam. The author also added that Brigadier Usman stormed a mosque with full military might after Pakistanis had taken shelter. “For him the mosque lost the purity after the Pakistani mercenaries had taken shelter,” added Salam.
The authors argue that Brigadier Usman deserves to be reclaimed as a national role model at a time when polarization threatens India’s plural ethos. “Any society must choose its heroes carefully,” Salam said. “It is unfortunate our children know film stars and cricketers better than they know Brigadier Usman, who sacrificed everything for India.”
The biography, released against the backdrop of ongoing debates over nationalism, has already spurred the inclusion of Usman’s story in select NCERT textbooks. The authors hope it sparks wider recognition — and perhaps a long-overdue film — on the Lion of Naushera.
Mishra shared that researching for the book was daunting, for one brother of the war hero had emigrated to the US long ago. Another brother, Brigadier Mohammed Ghufran, had deceased in 1980s, said the authors. Mishra stated that the life story of Brigadier Usman is a shining example that “Muslims in the Hindi heartland had refused the two-nation theory” that led to partition of India in 1947. Usman hailed from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, while his father was a senior police official in Banaras during the British Rule.
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An ungrateful nation & a more ungrateful political party has forgotten it & persecuting our brethren citing their religion