Parvez Bepari

"Whose message do I hear; When I am starting my journey; Fear not, oh Fear Not; He who sacrifices his life selflessly; For him, there is no erosion
The virtuous never die. The righteous never die in people's hearts, whether they are awake or asleep, like Parvez Bepari of the Bepari family of Chandpur. He was a young man of courage and hardship. Parvez was born on January 1, 2001, into a low-income family in Barhatia village, which is within the authority of the Matlab Uttar police station in the Chandpur district. His father is Md. Sabuj Bepari, and his mother is Shamsun Nahar.
Out of three sisters and one brother, Parvez was the oldest. When his father, the family's patriarch, became ill, Parvez took on the role of caregiver for the whole family, including his three sisters. Parvez was unable to continue his schooling because of his family's financial situation. After finishing the fifth grade, he left the trials of poverty to care for his family and relocate to the capital. He had learned to struggle at a young age. Because of his struggles, hard work, and love for his family, Parvez became a living example of the struggles of daily life.
Economic Condition of Martyr Parvez Bepari:
Martyr Parvez was his family's only provider. He was employed at a furniture store in the capital's Badda neighborhood. He rented a home in the Uttar Badda neighborhood. He controlled the family's spending with his earnings. Previously, Parvez's father, Sabuj Bepari, was employed as a launch laborer. Due to his sickness, he is currently unemployed at home. Parvez thus took on all of the family's responsibilities, including paying for the schooling of his three younger sisters. He would give his family the remaining 500 taka at the end of each month and keep the remaining 500 for himself. Despite the lack of money, there was no tiredness in his mind, but rather he found a kind of peace in seeing the smiling faces of his family. But the cruelty of fate turned everything in his peaceful life upside down in an instant. One day, Parvez was unexpectedly martyred. A shadow of mourning descended upon the family due to his death. Now there are no male members left in the family to earn an income. Now they are worried about how they will manage and how they will run the household expenses. The absence of Parvez has pushed their lives into darkness. How the family will survive, how the education expenses of the girls will be met - the family is not able to understand anything. The neighbors said that the family has no land or property except for a tin house. In this regard, the local UP member Kazi Mostak Ahmed said that the family is now very helpless. The government and the rich should stand by them.
Feelings of Close Relatives About the Martyr
Shaheed Parvez Bepari had been a conscious and outspoken individual since childhood. He was deeply religious and known for his polite and friendly nature. He interacted harmoniously with people of all ages. A devoted son, he always cared for his parents and held them in high regard. He also had great affection for his three younger sisters, showering them with love and care.
Mother Shamsun Nahar Begum said, "My innocent son died in a police shooting, who will run my family now? Who will bear the cost of my three daughters' education? I couldn't even see my son's body, how can I forget this sorrow? I want justice for the murder of my son." While saying these words, his mother Shamsun Nahar Begum could not hold back her tears. She started crying like a child.
Parvez's sister Nupur said that their last conversation with Parvez was on July 17 on the mobile phone. When asked what they talked about, she said that Parvez wanted to know how they were, whether they were eating properly or not. He also told his mother to take care of her health. After that, he was not heard from again. Nupur said with regret, "I would have been at peace if I could have seen my brother's body; but that too did not happen."
While saying these words, Nupur's voice was getting stuck. At one point, she broke down in tears. She said, "Even now, I sometimes feel that my brother is not dead. When Friday comes, it feels like my brother will call from Dhaka." Seeing Nupur's tears, her two sisters Jhumur and Khadija, who were standing beside her, could not hold back their tears. This cry seemed to spread like an infection and instantly spread to the eyes and faces of Parvez's parents and neighbors as well.
The Incident of Martyrdom
The anti-discrimination student movement continued throughout July 2024. The students primarily voiced their demands through peaceful protests, human chains, demonstrations, and seminars. However, in various instances, the movement turned confrontational, leading to tensions between the security forces and the students. This was because the authoritarian government, instead of acknowledging the students' rightful demands, was crushing them under the steamroller of oppression.
Across the country, bullets, rubber bullets, sound grenades, and tear gas shells were fired at the students and the public. Thousands of mothers lost their children, thousands of children became fatherless, and thousands of women were widowed.
As part of the movement’s progression, on July 19, during the students' "Complete Shutdown" program, the capital city, Dhaka, witnessed intense clashes, attacks, vandalism, shootings, arson, and loss of lives. Massive protests, confrontations, and violence also erupted in various districts across the country. In the brutal shootings by the police and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), 119 people were martyred.
Following this, the student movement transformed into a symbol of a mass uprising. On that day, the streets were filled with people from different classes and professions—outnumbering even the students—all united under a single demand: the overthrow of the dictatorship. It goes without saying that the capital Dhaka was more volatile than the whole country, where hundreds of people were martyred on this day. Jatrari, Uttara, Rampura-Badda, Science Lab, Mirpur 1 and 10, Mohakhali, Mohammadpur, and Savar of Dhaka were the main hotspots of the movement. On this day, a curfew was imposed across the country at night, and the army was deployed. At the same time, all internet services were cut off. As a result, the whole country was plunged into darkness due to lack of information.
On this bloody July 19, Parvez was martyred, leaving his parents childless. Quoting eyewitnesses, family members said that Parvez was shot dead by police on the spot while participating in a rally of students and people against discrimination in the Rampura area of the capital at 10 pm on July 19. From there, his body was taken to the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital by locals. Later, the body was buried by the workers of Anjuman Mufidul Islam in the graveyard of Kakrail or Mugda area of Dhaka. Due to lack of specific information, the relatives have not been able to identify the grave till now.
Parvez's mother, Shamsun Nahar Begum, said that Parvez was not found for two days. Later, one of his acquaintances called and said that Parvez had been shot and had achieved the status of a martyr. Following this, Parvez's father, Sabuj Bepari, went to the morgue of Dhaka Medical College on July 22 and saw Parvez's name in the list of dead people.
His death created a deep void in the entire area, because Parvez was not just a young man, he was a voice of protest. For the last 16 years, he was an indomitable soldier against the autocratic rule led by Sheikh Hasina, the snatching of voting rights, the skyrocketing prices of goods, murder, and enforced disappearance - all these injustices. The death of a brave man like him has shocked not only one family but the entire society. Today Parvez is no more, but his protesting spirit, his sacrifice, and the pain of his martyrdom seem to remain in the tears of his family, in the hearts of the people of the area. May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdaus, this is everyone's prayer today. That's why in the words of the poet,
Why do sorrows come in processions like this?
Stopping the rhythm of the lives of hardworking people?
Why do sorrows repeatedly fall in love with them?
Covering their lives full of laughter and tears with silence?
Personal Information of the Shaheed at a Glance
Name: Parvez Bepari
Profession: Carpenter
Date of birth and age: 01-01-2001
Date of injury and martyrdom: Friday, July 19, 2024, 7 PM
Place of martyrdom: Not known
Buried: Not known. Anjuman Mufidul Islam buried the body.
Grave's GPS location: Grave location is not known
Permanent address: Barhatia, Fatehpur East, Matlab North, Chandpur
Father: Md. Sabuj Bepari
Mother: Shamsun Nahar Begum
Condition of house and property: There is a small amount of land in the village. There is a homestead land.
Details of siblings: Three sisters. No brother. All the sisters are studying.
Elder sister: Nupur Akhtar (age 21, HSC passed)
Middle sister: Jhumur Akhtar (age 16, Class: Tenth)
Younger sister: Khadija Akhtar (age 12, Class: Sixth)
Proposals to help the martyr's family:
1. It will be helpful if a business establishment is set up for the father.
2. Proposal 2: Arrangements can be made to facilitate the education of the younger sisters.
3. Proposal 3: Decent housing can be arranged.