Shafiur Rahman (; 24 January 1918 – 22 February 1952) is considered in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

to be a martyr of the language movement which took place in the former

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

Early life

Shafiur Rahman was born in Konnagar, near

Serampore Serampore (also called Serampur, Srirampur, Srirampore, Shreerampur, Shreerampore, Shrirampur or Shrirampore) is a city in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Srirampore subdivision. It is a part ...

, in

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. His father's name was Hakim Mahabubur Rahman and his mother's name was Kanayata Khatoon. He graduated from Konnagar High School in 1936 and completed his I. Com at Government Commerce College in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. After the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

he moved to Dhaka,

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

, taking a job as a clerk in the accounts section of the

Dhaka High Court The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh (), popularly known as High Court, is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate Division. It consists of the Chief Justice of Bangla ...

Bengali Language Movement

On 22 February 1952 while commuting to his job on his bicycle he entered

Nawabpur Road Nawabpur Road is a road in Old Dhaka City, Bangladesh, and is associated with the Shankhari and Gulistan bazaars. It is a busy road often jammed with rickshaws, human-drawn carts, and foot traffic.Book, Development Fieldwork, a practical guide. ...

, which was full of protesters against police shootings the previous day at a language movement rally. Police fired at the protests and Shafiur Rahman was shot in the back; he died after being taken to Dhaka Medical College. He was buried in Azimpur graveyard under police guard.

Legacy

Two days after the incident, the first Shaheed Minar was inaugurated by his father, Hakim Mahbubur Rahman, along with the protesting students of

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

. In 2000, Shafiur Rahman was awarded the

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak () is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of martyrs of the Bengali language movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including culture, education, and e ...

by the government of Bangladesh. A bronze sculpture of his head with four other martyrs of the language movement is called '' Moder Gorob'' and located in

Bangla Academy The Bangla Academy (, ) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in Bangladesh. It is an autonomous institution funded by the Government of Bangladesh that fosters the Bengali language, literature and culture, works to develop an ...

premises.

Gallery

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 1918 births 1952 deaths People from Hooghly district Bengali language activists Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Burials at Azimpur Graveyard