Feature

In Remembrance of
Supreme Sacrifice

Shushmita Ahmed

AT the entrance of Chittagong University, one can find a memorial titled 'Shmaran' (Remembrance). In recent times, it was erected to pay homage to the martyrs of the University of Chittagong, who sacrificed their lives during the Liberation War. The special feature of the monument is, it reminds us not only of the liberation war, but also of all the significant events behind the independence of Bangladesh. As part of a series of historic events from 1952, the country achieved its independence in 1971 through supreme sacrifices made by thousands of people. One of the largest educational institutions, Chittagong University (CU) had its own share of sacrifices.

The memorial includes portraits and names of the seven martyrs of the University of Chittagong, they are, Mohammad Hossain, Chairman, Engineering office; Abdur Rob, student, Dept. of History and General Secretary, Chitttagong University Central Student Union (CUCSU); Iftekhar Uddin Mahmud, student, Dept. of Sociology; Farhad-ud-doulla, student, Dept. of History; Nazim Uddin Khan, student, Dept. of Economics; Sub-assistant Engineer Probhash Kumar Barua and Syed Ahmed, security guard, Alawal Hall. Among the martyrs, Mohammad Hossain received the honour of 'Bir-Protik' after his death in 1971. The memorial designed by Prof. Syed Saiful Kabir, Dept. of Fine Arts, University of Chittagong was planned under observation of Prof. Dr. Abu Yusuf, Vice-Chancellor (VC),University of Chittagong.

'Shmaran' consists of four steps, the first one stands for the language movement of 1952, the second step represents the history of 1969, the third step denotes the memories of election of 1970 and last one signifies the Liberation War in 1971. It has two pillars; of them, the main pillar is sixteen feet high that indicates the 16th December and the other one is nine feet, which symbolizes the nine-month struggle of 1971. The major portion of the memorial is made of black Granite stone. 'Amader attotyag tomader jonno' - the message attracts the attention indeed, as it is written on the monument in bold letter.

Those who were born in the independent Bangladesh are not fully acquainted with the meaning of words like freedom and independence. For the ears that never heard the sound of gunfire, eyes that never saw a woman loose her honour while being captive in an army camp, a nose that never smelt the stench of decaying human bodies, hands that never felt a wall riddled with bullets, for us the Liberation War is often about stories heard from the elderly members of the family, books written by intellectuals, patriotic songs, TV dramas, heavy talk shows and paying homage to martyrs on national occasions.

(The writer is a student of Dept. of Law, University of Chittagong.)
Photo: Md. Jahirul Islam