Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has renamed two roads after a Language Movement hero Shaheed Shafiur Rahman and a former khatib of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque.
The road stretching from Doyel Chattar to Shikhya Bhaban has been renamed “Bhasha Shaheed Shafiur Rahman Sarak” while the road stretching from the north gate of Baitul Mukarram to DIT Extension Road has been renamed after former khatib Prof Maulana Muhammad Salahuddin.
The decision was made at the 18th board meeting of DSCC on February 14.
DSCC Public Relations Officer Abu Nasser confirmed the matter to Bangla Tribune on Sunday (February 19).
He said that the proposal was approved at the sub-committee meeting on February 14 and was effective immediately.
Due to the ongoing construction of metro rail on both the roads, the new name plates were not installed, Abu Nasser said.
According to sources, High Court Division Registrar General Golam Rabbani proposed the name “Bhasha Shaheed Shafiur Rahman Sarak” while DSCC ward 13 councilor Enamul Haque proposed the other name.
Golam Rabbani in the proposal mentioned that language martyr Shafiur Rahman completed higher secondary from Calcutta Government Commercial College and came to Dhaka with his father in 1948. He then joined the accounts department of the then Dhaka High Court.
On February 22, 1952, he left his home on Raghunath Das Lane on a bicycle for his office.
Meanwhile, a protest rally led by students was brought out at Nawabpur Road demanding Bengali as the state language at around 10:30am the same day. To disperse the protesters, police opened fire and Shafiur was shot in the back. He was then taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he died later in the evening.
Shafiur Rahman was awarded the Ekushey Padak (posthumously) in 2000 by the government.
On the other hand, Maulana Mohammad Salah Uddin was a distinguished scholar and Islamic thinker. In order to preserve his memory, his name was proposed in the meeting.