Shahjahan Ali: A war hero's commitment to community

The month of March always seemed to stir something deep within Shahjahan Ali. Restless and fidgeting, he would sit in silence, lost in thought, while everyone in the house sensed what was happening. It was as if he had travelled back to the turbulent days of 1971, reliving the injustices committed by the Pakistanis, the formation of the Swadhin Bangla Sangram Parishad, and, ultimately, the declaration of independence.

Driven by patriotism, the young college student from Makorkol village in Tangail Sadar upazila made his way to India to actively participate in the war. There, he received military training at the Tendua Military Academy and later fought on the frontlines in Sector 11, near the Indian border adjacent to the then Mymensingh district.

Skilled in rifle shooting and grenade throwing, he quickly earned the respect of Indian army officers and fellow soldiers. After the country's victory on December 16 in 1971, he returned home.

Following independence, Shahjahan joined the Bangladesh Police, but he did not remain in the job for long. Instead, he returned to his village and opened a small pharmacy. The poverty-stricken residents of the sandy Jamuna char had little means to pay for medicine, but he refused to turn them away.

"I provided medicine for free, driven by the same sense of duty that had compelled me to fight for my country," he told this correspondent recently.

The pharmacy still stands after fifty years, and the need remains.

"My children are employed in different professions, so I never saw providing free medicine as a burden," he added.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Shahjahan took another step towards serving his community. He established Mahmudnagar Technical School to equip the village's youth with practical skills and help them become self-sufficient.

To make this possible, he donated his own land, took a bank loan of ten lakh taka, and used the monthly allowance he received as a freedom fighter.

"I never viewed the allowance as a personal benefit but as a means to contribute to the future of the nation."