34 citizens protest attempt to grab house of martyr Dhirendranath Datta, demand state protection

Thirty-four distinguished citizens of the country have protested the attempt to forcibly occupy the residence of language movement activist and martyr of the great Liberation War Dhirendranath Datta in Cumilla city. At the same time they have demanded immediate government initiative to protect the house and return it to the control of the family.

They made this demand in a joint statement sent to the media on Saturday (November 14).

The statement said the family has alleged that a special quarter is trying to forcibly occupy the own house of martyr Dhirendranath Datta in Jhawtola area of Cumilla city by putting up a signboard written ‘Smriti Jadughar’. This news published in the media has given rise to deep concern and anger.

In the statement the citizens said Dhirendranath Datta first raised the demand to make the Bengali language one of the state languages in the form of a proposal in the Constituent Assembly of the then Pakistan in 1948. For this reason although he incurred the displeasure of the Pakistani rulers, the students and people of East Bengal welcomed him with flower garlands.

They further said after the massacre by the Pakistani occupation forces began on March 25, 1971, Dhirendranath Datta was taken away from his own house. After months of physical torture in the cantonment he was shot dead. At the same time his younger son was also killed.

The statement said Dhirendranath Datta was a renowned lawyer and popular politician. He was a close associate of leaders like Sher-e-Bangla A K Fazlul Huq, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the movement for the independence of the subcontinent and the establishment of the rights of the common people. After the victory of the United Front in the 1954 election he also served as an important minister in the government led by Sher-e-Bangla A K Fazlul Huq.

Expressing regret the citizens said in Bangladesh which became independent in exchange for the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of martyrs, Dhirendranath Datta has not been remembered with proper state dignity. It is also regrettable that no national institution has been named after him.

In the statement they called upon the government to immediately remove the signboard put up by the forcible occupiers of the house and return it to the control of the family. Alongside they demanded naming a national institution after Dhirendranath Datta and naming any road near the National Parliament after him.

Among the signatories of the statement are Professor Anu Muhammad, human rights activist and Founder Chairman of Human Rights Culture Foundation Advocate Sultana Kamal, Coordinator of Nijera Kori Khushi Kabir, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Dr Iftekharuzzaman, writer and journalist Abu Saeed Khan, senior lawyer of Bangladesh Supreme Court Advocate Z I Khan Panna, Executive Director of Campaign for Popular Education Rasheda K Chowdhury, Executive Director of Manusher Jonno Foundation Shaheen Anam, photographer Dr Shahidul Alam, Executive Director of ALRD Shamsul Huda, Professor of the Department of Sociology of Dhaka University Dr Samina Luthfa, Professor of the Department of International Relations of Dhaka University Dr Tanzimuddin Khan, Professor of the Department of Law of Dhaka University Dr Shahnaz Huda, Professor of the Department of Anthropology of Dhaka University Dr Zobaida Nasreen, Professor of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of Dhaka University Robayet Ferdous, Associate Professor of the Department of English of Dhaka University Tasnim Siraj Mahbub, Visiting Professor of London School of Economics and Political Science Dr Swapan Adnan, writer and researcher Rehnuma Ahmed, senior lawyer of Bangladesh Supreme Court Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, senior lawyer of Bangladesh Supreme Court Advocate Tabarak Hossain, General Secretary of Sammilita Samajik Andolon Saleh Ahmed, writer and researcher Pavel Partha, anthropologist and researcher Dr Ishita Dastidar, researcher and rights activist Rozina Begum, Executive Director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association (BNWLA) Advocate Salma Ali, Acting General Secretary of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council Manindra Kumar Nath, Chief Executive of Nagorik Uddyog Zakir Hossain, Chief Executive of Human Rights Culture Foundation Advocate Saidur Rahman, poet and essayist Shahed Kayes, poet and indigenous cultural activist Mithun Raksam, human rights activist Saeed Ahmed, human rights activist Dipayan Khisa, rights activist Dr Hana Shams Ahmed and rights activist Muktashree Chakma.