Shahidul Islam Shovan, 19, was almost ready to leave for Japan in pursuit of higher education. He dreamt of alleviating his family’s financial burdens, and he dreamt of a better Bangladesh. The passport had been made and all documents ready, but the flight to Japan would leave without Shovan aboard it.
On July 19, 2024, Shovan, a college student, was martyred in police firing near the New Market area of the Dhaka while participating in the Anti-discrimination Student Movement protest marches, around 6:30 pm.
Reminiscing about her son, Shovan’s mother Shahnaz Begum, 40, said a few years ago, on February 21, Shovan had made a poster of the honoured martyrs of the 1952 Language movement, Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Shafiq, Jabbar, and he had posted it on Facebook. He was in class seven or eight at the time.
Talking about the picture, which incidentally also included Shovan himself in front of the Shaheed Minar, his mother said, “Every one of them sacrificed their lives on the streets for the country. Almighty Allah might have decided Shovan’s martyrdom and all the characters in that poster became one.”
“We didn’t know my son had such a deep love for his country. He himself was a poster boy for his country,” she said.
Speaking of the day her son joined the Shaheeds of the past, Shahnaz Begum said, ‘That day was Friday, July 19. Shovan was eating Biryani after offering Friday prayers at noon. His friends were calling him repeatedly to say that they would all join the movement. The boy ate it in a hurry and left.”
She continued, “I didn’t know that would be my son’s last meal…that this would be my last meeting and conversation with him.”
He was buried at Hafizi Huzur Graveyard in the Kamrangirchar area on Saturday afternoon, July 20.
Born on December 16, 2005, his family hailed from Uttar Kholapara village under Srinagar police station in Munshiganj. Shovan passed his HSC from Sheikh Borhan Uddin College in 2024.
His father Nazrul Islam, 46, is a small businessman. However, he has closed his business since his son was killed due to physical illness. Shovan’s younger sister Nadia Islam Neha, is an eight-grade student at the local Ashrafa High School.
Quoting eyewitnesses, Shovan’s father said, “About the incident that day, actually we were not there at that time, it was not clear who went to the movement with whom, who went where during the movement. Even his friends can’t say.”
A boy named Alamgir Hossain took Shovan to the hospital.
Alamgir Hossain said, “We were in front of the New Market petrol pump at that time. There was a chase and a counter chase. The sound of gunfire was intermittent. When the police had gone far, I looked back and saw a boy sitting in a prostration position.”
“By then, the police had passed us and moved further ahead. I ran to the boy. I saw that he was bleeding profusely. He had been shot in the lower abdomen. He looked at me and said, ‘Brother, please take me to the hospital,” Alamgir said.
Alamgir further added, “As soon as he said this, he threw his body at me. We quickly took a rickshaw. The boy was still alive.”
Quoting Alamgir, Nazrul Islam further said, ‘I unlocked his phone with my finger and called his mother at home to tell her that Shovan had been shot. We were taking him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.”
“After taking him to the hospital, I saw a scattering of injured and dead people there. There was crying and commotion all around. A doctor saw the pulse and said, ‘He died a long time ago.’ Shovan’s mother added. “I ran to the hospital like crazy after hearing the news. I saw my son lying on a trolley on one side of the emergency department. A few boys were standing next to him. I ran to Shovan. My son’s body was frozen,” she said.
His father said, “No matter how much I shook his body, no matter how many times I called his name, the son didn’t say anything. He didn’t say a word.”
He said, “Since our son died while participating in the anti-discrimination student-public movement, I was afraid that the police would take the body away and if they would arrest us!”
So, without an autopsy, the father hurriedly brought his son’s boy from the hospital with the help of his brothers and friends.
Shovan’s mother said tearfully, “So many dreams I had about my son, everything is over. I don’t know how we will spend the rest of our lives. We have nothing to ask from the government. Shovan died with the dream for the country in his heart, let this country be the way Shovan wanted it to be. The people of the country should remember my son and not forget his sacrifice.”