The saying charity begins at home applies to Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho, 25, a resident of Uttara's Azampur, who wanted to be a true patriot.
He always kept himself busy bringing smiles to the faces of others by extending a helping hand at home and outside.
From his childhood, he had a different personality, according to family members. He possessed an articulate and strong personality.
Mugdho wanted to be a true patriot, an efficient freelancer and a philanthropist.
His favourite quote was “Life should be great rather than long.”
Martyred Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho was born to Mostafizur Rahman and Shahana Chowdhury on October 9, 1998 in the capital’s Uttara. Among three brothers, Mir Mahbubur Rahman Snigdho and Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho were twins.
Mugdho's dreams
Talking to BSS, Mir Mahmudur Rahman Deepto, the elder brother of Mugdho, said all three brothers had an interest in knowing about the country.
“Mugdho dreamed of taking his photo standing in front of circuit houses in 64 districts of the country with his beloved motorbike bearing “Bumble Bee” sticker and he would mingle with the people of all the districts, know and understand about the people and environment of the districts,” he said.
For this, he started working with his own blogging page and made videos with a target to present unknown information about the country’s history and heritage to the people and he had visited 34 districts, said Deepto.
“To fulfil Mugdho’s dream, we also travelled to different places in the country starting from Sreemangal and Kaptai with my wife, and Mugdho and Snigdho. But my brother Mugdho was not able to materialize his dream” he said.
On July 18, Mugdho embraced martyrdom after taking part in the quota reform movement called by the students in Azampur.
During the quota reform movement, the police opened fire on the students.
One of the bullets hit Mugdho's forehead and pierced through his right ear. Later, the doctors declared Mugdho dead when he was taken to nearby Crescent Hospital.
Shortly before being shot, Mugdho was distributing water and biscuits among the protesting students saying: “Water, water, anybody needs water, brother?”
At one point, he was sitting with a friend, when a bullet hit him in the forehead. He collapsed immediately.
The story of bravery and heroism of Mugdho, who has become a symbol of movement and humanity, has spread not only in the country but also around the world.
A family man
“We grew up in a joint family. Mugdho and Snigdho are twin brothers. Mugdho was very cheerful since childhood. We all grew up in a family with love and discipline,” Deepto said.
“We three love sports. Mugdho was a very good sportsman. Mugdho and Snigdho played divisional football as they played regularly for two football clubs. We used to play games after Asr prayers and there was a directive [from our parents] to return home before Maghrib prayers after playing games. We used to go for play before the scheduled time. That is why we used to close the roof door of the one-storey house from outside and go to play getting down from the roof. We had such a relationship,” he said.
“Mugdho was very close to our mother. We brothers had to hand over equal money to our mother at the beginning of the month. Mugdho used to hand over more than Tk5,000 Tk7,000 than us to our mother and requested mother, 'Brothers and father should not know it, this is for you.'”
Deepto said: "My mother needs a hearing aid, she does not use it at home. That is why she hears a little less. As Amma would not get hurt, whenever she was at home, Mugdho used to go to her and say, 'Amma, is it time for prayer?' Then my mother used to look at the clock and say, 'Yes, it is time for prayer, I will pray.'”
He said Mugdho led a very simple life. He used to save a portion of his earnings every month so that it could be donated. Earlier, Mugdho was distributing water and biscuits among the students likewise he did it earlier too. He possessed many qualities. Along with education, he was also active in freelancing. He used to earn $2,500 to $3,000 from freelancing.
Deepto said Mugdho and Snigdho joined scouting in Class IV. Mugdho joined scouting at the BNCC.
He said their father used to encourage him. From his limited income, their father used to pay to send Mugdhi to scout camping to help affected people. Mugdho was the unit leader of the Scout Group of the Armed Police Battalion. During the Banani fire in 2019, Mugdho received a 'National Service Award' from Bangladesh Scout for helping the victims with water and biscuits.
"We were taught by our family to respect any profession. Father was a health inspector. He retired. Our village house is in Brahmanbaria. All of us were born in Uttara. Now our uncle has built a house in Priyanka City, we all live on different floors."
A meritious student
Mugdho came to Dhaka last March after completing his graduation in mathematics from Khulna University (KU). After that, he was admitted to the MBA course at BUP (Bangladesh University of Professionals). He had a dream to go to the Netherlands for higher studies.
KU mathematics discipline head Prof Dr Md Azmol Huda told BSS that the talented Mugdho was a 19th batch student of the university. He completed his graduation with good results.
“An intimacy was developed between us when he was in the fourth year. During their study tour, I was not the head of the department, but I was in charge of the guide at that time. He came close to me at that period. Mugdho was one of the organizers among two or three students of the tour,” he said.
Huda said Mugdho went to Dhaka to do his master's. While leaving he told about his future plans. One remarkable thing was that he had always a smiling face, he said adding that Mugdho used to make fun with his friends.
“Mugdho was an impressive student of the university.”
He said getting the news of Mugdho martyrdom in the evening on that day, his batch mates were burst into tears. “A close friend of Mugdho and a KU student was beside Mugdho during his martyrdom. I always kept in touch with him,” he said.
“We lost a meritorious student. His vacuum will never be filled,” said Huda.
Mugdho was one of the pioneering frontline soldiers who made supreme sacrifice in the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. Due to their sacrifice, the movement gained momentum and eventually turned into a mass uprising. As a result of which on August 5, autocrat Sheikh Hasina fled the country and the country was freed from dictatorship.
In the history of the second independence of this country, the name of Mugdho will be written in golden letters. With respect, the nation will remember Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho, who became a symbol of humanity. In his memory, Bangabandhu Mukta Manch has already been renamed as 'Mugdhamanch' in Dhaka's Uttara.
It is everyone's wish that those who lost their lives in the July-August uprising should live as a light of consciousness in the minds of the people of this country for thousands of years.
