Md. Shakhil Anwar

Md. Shakhil Anwar is one of the martyrs who were killed in the mass uprising of July-August 2024 to overthrow the autocracy. He was martyred on the 5th of August, the day of victory. Md. Shakhil Anwar was born on August 5, 1986, in Sridhargur Noi village of Bisha Union, Atrai police station in Naogaon district. By the will of Allah, he was martyred on his birthday, August 5. Shakhil Anwar had been unemployed for 1 year before his martyrdom.
Shakhil Anwar's father's name is Md. Abed Ali (61). He is a farmer by profession. Mother's name is Mosammat Shahara Begum (53). She is a housewife. Shakhil Anwar was married. His wife's name is Mosammat Salma Akter (36) and she is a garment worker.
Shakhil Anwar was the second among five brothers. His elder brother Abdul Matin is a farmer. The next two are Abu Talha, a mason, and Ashiqur Rahman, a van driver. His youngest brother, Md. Sakawat Hossain, left this world at the tender age of 15. After completing his SSC, Sakawat Hossain used to work in Dhaka to financially support the poor family. Like every time, in 2009, on his way back to Dhaka after celebrating Eid at his village home, he died after hitting his head on the roof of the train.
Incident of Martyrdom
August 5, 2024. The final stage of the movement against the autocratic government. Shakhil Anwar actively participated in the movement in Savar EPZ. At noon, he came home to change his sweat-soaked clothes on his tired body. Meanwhile, the autocratic Hasina government was overthrown. Shakhil Anwar went out again to participate in the victory procession after hearing the news of her escape. The time is 3:30. When the victory procession reached in front of the EPZ, the police carried out a barbaric massacre on that procession of students and the public. They started firing indiscriminately. Shakhil was shot in the head. Then, when he was taken to Gana Swasthya Kendra, the doctors on duty advised him to be taken to another hospital quickly as the patient's condition was critical. On the way from there to Sheikh Fazilatunnessa Mujib Hospital, Shakhil Anwar breathed his last at 5:30 pm, answering the call of the great Lord.
Overall Description of the Martyr
Shakhil Anwar was born illuminating the house of his parents in Sridhargur Noi village of Atrai Upazila, which is adjacent to the Atrai River in Naogaon district. He grew up with great love and boundless affection. He studied up to the ninth grade at Sridhargur Noi Dakhil Madrasa next to the house. But due to the financial difficulties of his farmer father, he could not continue his studies later. Forced to quit his studies, he chose the path of earning money. He started farming with his father and elder brother. As time passed, in 2017, he went to Malaysia with many dreams. But those dreams did not fulfilled and he had to return home after a year.
In November 2020, Shakhil Anwar was married to Mosammat Salma Akter. A week after the marriage, he and his wife moved to Savar, Dhaka for work purposes. His wife worked in a garment factory and he took a job in a company called British American Tobacco. In 2023, he lost his job and became unemployed. As a result, he had difficulty running the family with his wife's limited income. So, he took a loan of 50 thousand taka from Grameen Bank to meet the initial expenses of the family. In an attempt to change his luck, he decided to go abroad again. He took another loan to get a visa and passport.
Plagued by the hardships of poverty, Shakhil Anwar repeatedly turned to loans to overcome financial hardship. Even then, poverty and debt seemed to be increasing in competition. In July 2024, the anti-autocracy student-public movement started across the country. The freedom-seeking students and people took to the streets to ensure the fall of the autocratic government. Shakhil Anwar did not sit still either. He actively participated in the movement of the common people.
August 5, 2024; he participated in the movement that day as well. As the day progressed, the intensity of the movement also increased. With a tired body, he came home at noon and heard the news of the fall of the autocratic government. He could not wait to take to the streets in the joy of victory. Changing his clothes, he went out again to participate in the victory procession. While leaving, he told his wife that they would have lunch together. But who knew, this journey was a journey of no return! The armed police force of the century's most vile tyrant and mass murderer Hasina opened fire on the victory procession of the students and the public. Shakhil Anwar was martyred.
As the afternoon passed, evening fell. Salma Akter, who was waiting for her husband, called her husband, and an unknown person from the other side of the phone informed her that the mobile had been found outside the Gana Swasthya Kendra and that she should take the mobile.
Salma Akter went out at that moment with a neighbor. As the situation on the streets was very bad, they could not move forward and went back home.
The next day, August 6, she again went out in search of her husband. From hospital to hospital, from emergency room to morgue; she kept searching for her husband Shakhil Anwar everywhere. Finally, she found the body of her beloved husband in the morgue of Sheikh Fazilatunnessa Mujib Hospital. Salma Akter became distraught with grief. She ran to their own house in Naogaon with her dead husband. That day, at 6:30 pm, after the funeral, Shaheed Shakhil Anwar was buried in his village home.
After his body was taken to the village home, a heartbreaking situation was created. A dark shadow of sorrow descended on the martyr's family. The mourning did not stop. The old parents, who were almost mad after losing their child, had tears in their eyes. Salma Akter, who lost her husband, the only means of survival, was in a terrible state. She could not accept her husband's departure for a moment.
Shaheed Md. Shakhil Anwar has left this world but will remain in our hearts.
The Plight of the Martyr's Family
The financial condition of Shaheed Shakhil Anwar's family is very fragile. His wife, Mosammat Salma Akter, works in a garment factory for a very low salary. She was the only source of income for the family. Shakhil Anwar had been unemployed for 1 year before his death. Prior to that, he worked for a company called British American Tobacco. Since losing his job, he had been trying to go abroad. He had also taken a loan to get a passport and visa.
In addition, the martyr's family has several other debts. Among them, the most important is a loan of 50 thousand taka from Grameen Bank for daily household expenses, of which only 6 thousand taka have been repaid so far. Then, Shakhil Anwar took another loan of 50 thousand taka from his mother-in-law to buy an autorickshaw. Out of which 20 thousand taka have been repaid. Later, when he needed more money for the visa, he sold the autorickshaw. In addition, there is a debt of 25 thousand taka at the grocery store, 23 thousand taka for bringing the martyr's body from the hospital to the village home, and about 2 lakh taka in total, including 3 months' house rent and outstanding electricity bills.
After her husband's death, Salma Akter, who was physically and mentally broken, lost her job at the garment factory and is currently living with her elderly in-laws in Naogaon. The meager income of Shakhil Anwar's father, Abed Ali, who is a sharecropper, is the only source of income for this family. The semi-finished house on a piece of land inherited from their ancestors, which serves as a place to shelter their heads, is currently the only resort of the martyr's wife.