Thirty-four prominent citizens have expressed deep concern and anger over an alleged attempt to occupy the residence of language movement leader and Liberation War martyr Dhirendranath Datta in Jhautala, Cumilla, by putting up a signboard identifying it as a “memorial museum.”
They have called on the government to protect the historic property and restore it to the control of Datta’s family.
The citizens made the demands in a joint statement sent to the media on Saturday.
Among the signatories are Professor Anu Muhammad, human rights activist and lawyer Sultana Kamal, Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman, writer and journalist Abu Sayeed Khan, and photographer Shahidul Alam.
In the statement, they said they had learned from media reports that Datta’s family had alleged an attempt to grab his ancestral residence.
They strongly condemned and protested what they described as an attempt by a political group to take control of the property by installing a signboard declaring it a “memorial museum.”
Highlighting Datta’s historic contribution, the statement noted that he was the first to formally propose in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan in 1948 that Bangla be recognised as one of the state languages of Pakistan.
Following the Pakistani military’s crackdown on 25 March 1971, troops abducted Datta from his home. After months of physical torture, he was brutally shot dead. His youngest son was also killed by the Pakistani forces.
The statement described Datta as a renowned lawyer and popular political leader. He served as an important minister in the government formed under the leadership of AK Fazlul Huq following the United Front’s landslide victory in the 1954 elections.
The signatories said that although Bangladesh emerged as an independent and sovereign country through the sacrifices of millions of martyrs, Dhirendranath Datta had yet to receive due national recognition.
They described the absence of any national institution named after him as a matter of shame and indignation.
They urged the government to immediately remove the signboard installed as part of the alleged occupation attempt and return the residence to Datta’s family.
They also called for a national institution to be named after him and a road near the National Parliament to be named in his honour.
Other signatories include Dhaka University professors Samina Luthfa, Tanzimuddin Khan, Shahnaz Huda, Zobaida Nasreen and Robaet Ferdous; senior lawyers Subrata Chowdhury and Tabarak Hossain; writers and researchers Rehnuma Ahmed and Pavel Partha; and human rights activists Salma Ali, Muktashree Chakma, Dipayan Khisa, Saeed Ahmed and Hana Shams Ahmed, among others.
