Md. Sumon Mia

On August 3, 2024, the coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement announced a non-cooperation movement with a one-point demand for the resignation of the despised Awami League government, which is also known as the one-point movement. The spontaneous participation of the general public in the movement and the inevitable fall of the Awami League government in the face of widespread massacres is also described as the second independence of Bangladesh. On August 3, countless people gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar, from where this non-cooperation movement was announced. During the quota reform movement in Bangladesh in 2024, in response to the harassment of students, mass arrests, the deaths of hundreds of students and the general public by law enforcement agencies, and the injury of thousands of students and the public, the anti-discrimination student movement presented nine demands to the government.
When these demands were not met and arrests and the use of force in the movement continued, a non-cooperation movement was announced at the National Shaheed Minar of Bangladesh, demanding Sheikh Hasina's resignation as a single point. The anti-discrimination student movement called for an indefinite, all-out non-cooperation movement on August 3. The outline of the non-cooperation movement was given at the Central Shaheed Minar. The outlines were:
1. No one will pay any kind of tax or revenue.
2. Do not pay any bills including electricity bills, gas bills, water bills.
3. All types of government and private institutions, offices, courts, and factories will remain closed. No one will go to the office; collect the salary at the end of the month.
4. The activities of educational institutions will be closed.
5. Expatriates will not send any kind of remittance to the country through banking channels.
6. All kinds of government meetings, seminars, and events will be boycotted.
7. Port workers will not join work. Do not unload any goods.
8. No factories in the country will run; garment worker brothers and sisters will not go to work.
9. Public transport will be closed; no workers will go to work.
10. Banks will be open every Sunday of the week for urgent personal transactions.
11. Police members will not go on any kind of protocol duty, riot duty, and protest duty except for routine duty. Only the police station will do the regular routine work of the police station.
12. Not a single penny should be smuggled out of the country; all offshore transactions will be closed.
13. Except for the BGB and the Navy, other forces will not perform duty outside the cantonment. The BGB and the Navy will remain in the barracks and coastal areas.
14. Bureaucrats will not go to the secretariat; DC or Upazila officers will not go to their respective offices.
15. Shops, showrooms, shopping malls, hotels, motels, and restaurants selling luxury goods will be closed. However, hospital, pharmacy, medicine and medical equipment transport, ambulance service, fire service, media, essential goods transport, emergency internet service, emergency relief assistance, and transport services for officials and employees on duty in this sector will remain operational. Essential goods shops will be open from 11 am to 1 pm.
The freedom-loving people of the whole country participated in the movement in their own way to implement this announced program. On that day, several heroic warriors offered Shahadat (martyrdom) in Magura district. Among them is Shaheed Sumon Mia. Despite being born into a poor family, Shaheed Sumon Mia was a bright example of immense courage. Shaheed Sumon Mia was everyone's favorite face. This teenage martyr was born on 11.12.2004 in Balidia village of Mohammadpur upazila of Magura district. After passing SSC from the local Balidia Secondary School, he was admitted to the 1st year of the Humanities Department at Mohammadpur BM College. He was a favorite of all his friends at school and college. Because of his skill in sports, all the students and teachers loved him.
How He Was Martyred
The student-public movement, the quota reform movement, spread rapidly across the country. Gradually, this anti-discrimination movement became everyone's demand. To join the anti-autocracy protest march of the student public, Shaheed Sumon Mia went to his mother to say goodbye. He encouraged his friends in various ways to join the movement.
On August 4, 2024, at 11 am, he, along with his classmates and friends, participated in a protest march on the main road in front of Aminur Rahman Degree College, located next to Mohammadpur police station in Magura district. When the Mohammadpur police arrested 4 students from the peaceful protest march, the protest march turned into a protest rally.
A large number of students and the public came and joined the rally from all sides. The protesters repeatedly requested the police to release the arrested students, but instead of releasing them, the police started firing tear gas and bullets at the student-public rally. Countless people were injured and fell on the road due to the shooting.
At one point, due to public resistance, the police fled the police station. The general public besieged the police station and brought out the arrested students from the police station's lockup. Later, the general public rescued the injured and admitted them to the local hospital. At 1 pm, the doctor declared Shaheed Sumon Mia dead while he was undergoing treatment. The people of all walks of life were stunned with grief at the loss of Sumon Mia.
On the morning of August 5, Shaheed Sumon Mia's namaz-e-janaza was completed. Thousands of people participated in the janaza (funeral prayer). After the janaza, Shaheed Sumon Mia was buried in the local Balidia graveyard. The martyr's mother and dear friends are still waiting for Shaheed Sumon Mia. Their tears never seem to end.
Comments about the Martyr
The martyr's neighbors say that Sumon Mia was a very good student. Besides studying, he sometimes worked as a day laborer in other people's homes. After the divorce of Shaheed Sumon Mia's parents, both have separate families. Shaheed Sumon lived with his mother most of the time. He would tell his mother, "If I get a job after finishing my studies, you will have no more hardship. I will repay all the money you borrowed."
Personal Information of the Shaheed at a Glance
Martyr's Full Name: Shaheed Md. Sumon Mia (20)
Profession: Student, BM College, Mohammadpur
Address: Balidia, Mohammadpur, Magura
Date of Birth: 11/12/2004
Father: Md. Kanur Rahman (50)
Father's Profession: Agriculture
Mother's Name: Mosammat Khadija Begum (45)
Mother's Profession: Housewife
Martyr's Siblings: Sumaiya Khatun (20), Mariam (13), Hussain (08), Sinha (02)
Number of Family Members: 6
Family Income: 10000 Taka
Attackers: Police
Time of Injury: August 4, 2024, 11:30 AM
Date and Time of Death: August 4, 2024, 1:00 PM
Location of Martyr's Grave: Balidia Graveyard, Mohammadpur
Suggestions
1. Help the martyr's mother, who is in debt, by repaying the loan.
2. Help the younger siblings with their education.
3. Provide one-time assistance.