Remembering a language martyr

Seventy-two years ago, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed became a language martyr among many brave souls who sacrificed their lives for Bangla -- their mother tongue.

Police had opened fire on a group of students protesting for their right to speak in Bangla near the hostels of Dhaka Medical College Hospital on February 21, 1952.

Rafiq, 25, was among those who died there.

Shaheed Rafiq was buried in Dhaka's Azimpur graveyard. In 2000, he was posthumously awarded the Ekushey Padak.

The nation still remembers him with reverence for the sacrifice he made to ensure we could continue to speak in our mother tongue. All his four brothers eventually went on to fight in the Liberation War of Bangladesh, fulfilling the dream of an independent nation that Rafiq gave his life for.

In recognition of his sacrifice, his hometown village of Paril in Manikganj was renamed Rafiqnagar. The main road of Manikganj district town was named as "Shaheed Rafiq Road".

The bridge over Dhaleswari river at the entrance of Manikganj was also renamed to "Shaheed Rafiq Setu".

In his village, the Shaheed Rafiq Uddin Ahmad Library and Memorial Museum was built in 2008. Last year, Bhasha Shaheed Rafiq Uddin Ahmad Memorial Collection Centre was built at the north-east corner of the library.

At present, the museum has a tablecloth that Shaheed Rafiq had sewn himself, alongside his other belongings -- including a wooden table, four wooden chairs, a white panjabi and a lungi.

However, many valuable mementos such as his Ekushey Padak and SSC completion certificate have not been handed over to the museum yet.

"Last year, we finally received a few items used by Shaheed Rafiq, 15 years after the institution was established. Many items still remain with his younger brother Md Khorshed Alam. If those are given to the museum, it will be enriched," said Farhad Hossain, librarian of the facility.