Sofiur Rahman
Encyclopedia
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
to be a martyr of the language movement which took place in the former East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
.
Sofiur Rahman was born in Konnagar
Konnagar
Konnagar is a city and a municipality in Hooghly District in the Indian state of West Bengal. There are 20 wards in the Konnagar Municipal Area. It is under Uttarpara police station in Serampore subdivision. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority...
, in Hoogli
Hooghly District
Hooghly district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal in India. It can alternatively be spelt Hoogli or Hugli. The district is named after the Hooghly River.The headquarters of the district are at Chinsura...
, West Bengal. His father was Moulovi Mahbubur Rahman. He took his I. Com from the Government Commercial College of Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. After the partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
he came to East Bengal
East Bengal
East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly corresponded to the modern state of Bangladesh. Both instances involved a violent partition of Bengal....
with his wife Akila Begum and other members of the family, taking a job in the accounts section of the Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
High Court.
On February 22, 1952 while commuting to his job on his bicycle he entered Nawabpur Street, which was full of protesters against police shootings the previous day at a language movement rally. Rahman was struck in the back by a police bullet, and died after being taken to Dhaka Medical College. He was buried by the authorities in the middle of the night at the Azimpur Graveyard beside the grave of Abul Barkat
Abul Barkat
Abul Barkat was a demonstrator killed during the Bengali Language Movement protests which took place in the erstwhile East Pakistan , in 1952....
, who had been shot by police the previous day.
In 2005 Rahman was awarded Ekushey Padak
Ekushey Padak
Ekushey Padak is one of the highest civilian awards in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Language Movement of 1952 that took place on February 21, 1952.-2001:*Shah Abdul Karim...
, one of the highest civilian awards in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. In 2006 his wife Begum Akila Khatun and the families of other language movement martyrs were given pensions from the government of Bangladesh.
External links
- BSS news article on 2005 ceremony
- article on 2006 Ekushey Padak ceremony
- Short biography in Prime Minister's official website, Govt. of Bangladesh.