Md. Selim Talukdar

“People's sons are being was being martyred,
Will you keep your son tied to your apron strings?
Pray for his martyrdom as well. that he too may be was being martyred.”
Selim Talukdar's village home is in Mollikpur village, Nalsiti Upazila, Jhalokathi district. He grew up in the Madhya Badda area of Dhaka. He is known as Ramzan (nickname) to his friends and locals. Sultan Talukdar has four children. Among them, Selim was the middle one and the only brother of three sisters. From his childhood, he was known as gentle, polite, and cheerful in the area. He regularly offered five daily prayers and urged his family members to do the same.
He completed his graduation from BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology two years ago and worked as an Assistant Merchandiser at Metro Knitting and Dyeing Mills Limited in Narayanganj. He married Sumi Akhter on August 4, 2023.
Background of Martyrdom
The people of Bangladesh, crushed by 16 years of torture and oppression, had almost forgotten that rights are not given on a platter; they must be earned. They had accepted the misrule of the autocrat Hasina as their fate. "Nothing more will happen in this country" -this was the sigh of the elderly. But the student community of the country rejected this sigh. The young society of a country whose rebel poet is Nazrul, and poet of renaissance is Farrukh, and the nation which is nurtured by modernism like Mir Abdus Shakur Al Mahmud, and by spirituality like Mollik, cannot be suppressed for long. They quickly develop a distaste for the so-called "consciousness pills." The balloons of development do not create any emotion in their hearts. They quickly realize that their country's policy-making council is a grand union of liars, clowns, people of low intelligence, and entertaining singers and dancers. Those who are pushing the country towards a dark abyss. Who, if not stopped now, will bring nothing but a deep downfall to this country's fate.
When the anti-discrimination movement, led by the student community, started against the autocratic government, the entire nation responded to it over time. A flood of students and the public poured across the country. The chants of the autocrat's downfall were uttered everywhere. Selim Talukdar joined that movement from the very beginning as a conscious citizen.
On July 18, very early in the morning, Selim took out his old university ID card. When his mother asked, he did not say much. Later, his mother realized that he was going to the movement. His mother forbade him from going there as his wife was ill. In reply, Selim said, ‘People's sons are being was being martyred, will you keep your son tied to your apron strings? Did you see how the boy from Rangpur advanced his chest and was being martyred? Pray for me so that I can accept martyrdom as well. I too may be was being martyred’ - Hearing this, his mother Selina Begum broke down in tears. His family members tried a lot to persuade him not to go to the movement. His wife repeatedly stopped him. He told his wife, father, and mother - If we do not protest, will this autocrat be overthrown? Leaving behind his newly married and sick wife, he went to the movement.
Who has the power to stop the movement that has ignited fire in whose blood, whose heart is thirsty for the nectar of Martyrdom!
That day was the complete shutdown program of the anti-discrimination student movement. And on that day, the entire highway from Merul Badda to Rampura was occupied by students and the public. Shaheed Selim was in the front line of the movement's procession. On July 18, around 11 am, he started posting videos of violence one after another on Facebook. Clashes between students and the public and the police and Chhatra League continued intermittently. At one point, the killer Hasina's police and helmet forces started firing indiscriminately to break up the rally. Around 11 am, Selim was injured by police bullets, numerous splinters fired from a shotgun hit him. Selim fell to the ground. The highway was reddened with the blood of his body.
Around 1 pm, an unknown person called his family from Selim's phone and informed them that Selim had been shot and taken to Farazi Hospital. Since then, the phone was switched off. His distraught mother and younger sister rushed to the hospital like crazy. Not finding him there, they rushed to Mugda Medical. They saw Selim there, shot. His body and head were riddled with shotgun pellets. He was taken to the ICU and placed on life support in critical condition. As his condition worsened, he was placed on life support in the ICU of Dhanmondi Popular Hospital. In the X-ray and CT scan, 18 splinters were found in Selim's head and 57 in his chest and back. He died on August 1, after being on life support for 13 days with numerous wounds all over his body.
Due to fear of administrative harassment, several hospital authorities also refused to admit him while he was injured. After his death, Selim's family faced a terrible situation while getting the death certificate. His wife Sumi said that on August 1, while going to get the death certificate from the hospital, the police detained the body from morning till 3:30 pm. They took a written statement from Selim's father stating that he had died a natural death. At one point, they had to bring Selim's body without an autopsy. On this day, after the first funeral in the Kumillapara area (rented house) on Link Road in Badda, his family left for his village home in Nalsiti Upazila at night. After the second funeral on August 2, he was laid to rest beside the mosque in his own house.
A Kulkhani was organized three days after Selim Talukdar's death. That day was their first wedding anniversary.
More dramatic than a drama
Two weeks before being shot by the police, Selim went to the doctor with his sick wife. He did not yet know that he was going to be a father. On the day of the Kulkhani ceremony, Selim's wife became ill.
August 5, when she consulted a doctor, it was learned that Sumi Akhter was four weeks and six days pregnant. Sumi Akhter became distraught after hearing the news of becoming a mother five days after her husband's death.
It is not just the grief of Selim Talukdar's death, but the fatherlessness of an unborn child, the uncertain future of Sumi Akhter and the child, the loss of the only earning son of a father who had already lost his ability to work, and such a sudden disaster has made every member of the family seem like a living dead.
Family's Current Condition
After completing his studies, Selim took charge of the family. He worked as an Assistant Merchandiser in a garment factory in Narayanganj. His parents are almost mad after losing their only earning son. The future of the pregnant daughter-in-law, the family's only source of income lost, Selim's family is preparing to leave Dhaka and move permanently to their village home with empty hands.
His father, Sultan Talukdar, lost his ability to work many years ago. He used to transport passengers in his own rented car as a profession. At the age of 66, his hands and feet swell if he sits for a long time driving. Returning to work is now impossible. There is no one else in this family to take charge. Selim's family is living an uncertain life, wondering how the family will survive, what will be the future of Selim's pregnant wife.
Sumi says, ‘I am two months pregnant. If I am given a government job opportunity, I could survive well with my unborn child. I want a fair trial through a proper investigation into my husband's murder.’
Statements of Close Relatives about the Shaheed
His sister, Nasrin Akhter Suma, says, "My brother worked very hard for our education. He used to urge us to pray. My brother never did anything wrong. I never thought Allah would take my brother away so soon. It hurts a lot when I remember him. May Allah grant my brother paradise."
Selim's father, Sultan Talukdar, says, "We are now lost after losing our only child. We want to keep his memory alive in his unborn child. Our demand to the government now is that my son should be included in the list of Shaheeds."
Selim's father-in-law, Motiur Rahman, says, "My daughter became a widow at a young age. Selim's unborn child is in her womb. My daughter is an HSC examinee. If she gets any employment now, she will be able to dream of surviving with her unborn child."
Shaheed Md. Selim Talukdar's Personal Information at a Glance
Name : Md. Selim Talukdar
Occupation : Employed
Date of Birth : 25-01-1995
Father : Sultan Talukdar
Mother : Selina Begum
Permanent Address : Village: Dakshin Mollikpur, Union: Nalsiti Pourashova, Thana: Nalsiti, District: Jhalokathi
Place of Incident : BRAC University, Merul Badda
Time of Injury : 18-07-2024, 11:30 AM
Time of Martyrdom : 31-07-2024
Type of Injury : Shotgun pellets (Chhorra Guli)
Assailant : Police
Current Location of Shaheed's Grave : Family Graveyard, Nalsiti On the day of his Martyrdom, Selim's wife,
Sumi Akhter, was 4 weeks pregnant.
Proposals
1. His family has taken a loan of almost 15 lakh Taka to facilitate Shaheed's treatment. It is necessary to arrange for the repayment of the loan.
2. It is necessary to make arrangements to secure the future of his widow and unborn child.
3. Assistance can be provided for his sister's education and marriage.
4. Regular allowance can be arranged for his sick parents.