By Md Mamun Islam

RANGPUR, May 30, 2025 (BSS) - While eating breakfast on the morning of August 5, the day of his martyrdom, Jahidul Islam Sagar, 29, a poor barber, told his mother that if he died in the movement, he would be a martyr.

He used to say that the country must be saved from the tyranny of fascist Sheikh Hasina and her dictatorial regime, the indiscriminate killing of innocent students and people, the looting of public money, and the deprivation of citizens' human rights.

Jahidul then told his wife Rina, 26, "If I die while participating in the movement, promise me that you will not leave our only daughter, Pakhi, and go anywhere."

Born into a very poor family in Durgapur village near Bhurarhat Bazar in Sadar upazila of Rangpur on January 1, 1996, Jahidul was unable to continue his education beyond the primary level due to extreme poverty.

His landless father, Md Rafiqul Islam, 60, has been a rickshaw puller, while his mother, Amina Khatun, 50, is a housewife. Jahidul was the second of three siblings.

In 2012, he married Rina, 25, daughter of the late Nurul Islam, 52, of Amrulbari Hatkhola Para village in Badarganj upazila of Rangpur.

The couple has an 11-year-old daughter, Jahida Islam Pakhi. Pakhi is a student in class III at a local school run by BRAC.

Jahidul, along with his elder brother Alamgir, used to run a salon in Natun Bazar near Charalpara under Ashulia police station in Dhaka. Besides that, they also used to pull rickshaws, do masonry work, and sell vegetables during different seasons of the year.

Talking to BSS recently at their residence in the Bakultala area of Haragachh Municipality, his family recounted the struggles of Jahidul and the entire family.

Until 2017, Rafiqul Islam's family lived in their ancestral village of Durgapur, near Bhurarhat Bazar in Sadar upazila of Rangpur, about 10 kilometres west of Rangpur city.

With no other option to survive in extreme poverty, the family moved to Dakshin Baipail near Bashundhara Natun Bazar under Ashulia police station in Dhaka district in 2017 in search of a livelihood and started living in a rented house.

"We started coming out of poverty gradually due to our hard work. We also bought six decimals of land in the Bakultala area of Haragachh Municipality under Kawnia upazila of Rangpur," Rafiqul said.

Jahidul was very religious. He used to pray five times a day, recite the Holy Quran, fast, and observe all religious rituals regularly.

"Despite being less educated, my son Jahidul was very aware of the country's politics. He always thought about the future of the country and the welfare of the people," said Rafiqul with tearful eyes.

From the beginning of July, Jahidul and his brothers Alamgir and Jiban Khan spontaneously started participating in protests under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.

"Jahidul often said that Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League, and their terrorists and looters have destroyed everything in the country, leaving no hope for future generations. He used to say that the people of the country have to overthrow Sheikh Hasina's fascist regime," said Rafiqul Islam.

After Abu Sayeed, a brilliant student and student coordinator of Begum Rokeya University, was killed in police firing on July 16, 2024, Jahidul and his brothers were forbidden by their mother, Amina Khatun, to join the movement.

"A day before his martyrdom, on August 4, Jahidul returned home at 5 pm, bleeding profusely as Awami League terrorists attacked the people who participated in a protest procession," said his mother, Amina Khatun.

"I asked Jahidul why he went again despite my repeated prohibitions amid the deteriorating situation," Amina said, recalling her conversation with her son, who asked her to bandage and apply ointment to the injuries on his head and hands.

On the morning of August 5, Jahidul had breakfast at home with boiled rice and gourd curry at 8 am with other family members.

"Jahidul said the gourd curry turned out very tasty," said the mother.

She again forbade him from taking part in the protest march, as the police and Awami League men were very aggressive.
 
But he went to take part in the movement, wrapping his forehead with his mother's red 'gamcha' (towel).

"He told us if he died in the movement, it would be similar to a martyr's death," Amina recalled.

Jahidul's wife, Rina, recounted that her husband returned home at noon and had lunch with rice and gourd curry again.

"Without taking any rest, he took me outside by holding my hand and asked me to stand still at a nearby place. I did it. He said, 'Don't move at all.' He loved me unconditionally," she said.

"He quickly gave me a beautifully prepared betel leaf bought from a nearby shop and gave it to me. He knew that I loved betel leaves with betel nuts," she added.

"After that, he asked me to stand there until he returned in a very short time, and he went out at 12:15 p.m. . . . These were the last words of my husband," Rina said, starting to cry while narrating the day.

"On that day, while having lunch, he was laughing and chatting a lot," Rina recalled, saying, "He told me that if he died in the movement, I would not have any problems. He also made me promise that if he died in the movement, I would not leave our daughter no matter what," Rina said. 
She also promised Jahidul to do so, and she laughed and joked a lot.

"I told Jahidul that I wouldn't leave our daughter anywhere, and if I had to go, I would definitely take her with me," she said.

"Who knew these last jokes would become reality in just a few hours!" exclaimed Rina.

Md Anarul Islam Jibon Khan, 25, Jahidul's younger brother, who is a representative of the July-August Martyrs' Family (Rangpur division), said, "I was participating in the anti-discrimination student-public protest march in the Jahangirnagar University area from 6 a.m. on August 5.

"Around 1 p.m., we came to know that fascist Hasina had fled the country in the wake of our massive protest. Then, our protest turned into a victory procession."

Jibon said that he returned to the Baipail area at 1:30 p.m. and organised the victory procession in the area with the other local organisers.

Around 2 pm, Awami League terrorists and police conducted massive attacks on the victory processions in front of the Ashulia Police Station.

Many people, including students, were killed in the joint attacks carried out by police and Awami terrorists there.

"At one stage of the attacks, the general secretary of the Ashulia Thana unit of Jubo League, Shamim Haque Suman Bhuiyan, with his pistol in hand, shot my brother Jahidul on the right side of his head at 2:30 p.m.," he said in a sobbing tone.

Risking their own lives, the other people in the victory procession took Jahidul Islam Sagar to the Happy Hospital located in the Baipail area, where the bullet was removed from his head through surgery.

 

"As his condition was very critical due to profuse bleeding, Jahidul was shifted to the Ashulia Women and Children Hospital, where the attending doctor declared him dead at 3:30 p.m.," Jibon Khan said.

Then they took the body home and buried Jahidul at the Dakshin Baipail Charalpara graveyard after a namaz-e-janaza at 11:40 p.m.

Rina said, "Jahidul was such a good person that I cannot explain it in words. He was the best husband and the best father too. He used to pray regularly and recite the Holy Quran. He loved everyone. He used to take me and our daughter on many trips."

"He loved me very much. Good people do not last long. As a beloved servant of Almighty Allah, He has taken my husband back to Paradise as a martyr from this world," said Rina, weeping.

Rafiqul Islam and Amina Khatun called on the interim government to ensure justice for the killers of their beloved son.