After crossing Shyamoli College Gate in the capital Dhaka, the next bus stand is called Asad Gate. Every day thousands of people cross this road. Every day many people commute on this road pushing the traffic jam. However, many in the crowd may not know why this gate is called Asad Gate.
Who is this Asad? Today, the victory of youth is flying around. This victory did not come in one day. He came holding the hand of the sacrifice of many young people. Asad is one of those youths. The full name of Shaheed Asad is Amanullah Mohammad Asaduzzaman.
Dedicated to political activities, Asaduzzaman was always aware of the right of poor and helpless students to education. At that time he established a night school called Naish Vidyalaya in his village Shibpur and to establish Shibpur College he raised financial funds along with local educationists. As a result of the strike called by Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bahasani on December 6, 1968, the traders fully supported it. In this context, as a result of the siege of the Governor's House, the student organizations had already started a new movement.
Because of this, students of different colleges gathered at the university premises and after a short meeting at Battala around noon, a huge procession of about ten thousand students broke Section 144 and set foot on the highway. As the procession approached the then Post Graduate Medical College, police stormed it.
After about an hour of fighting, a group of student leaders, including Asad, tried to drive the procession past Dhaka Hall to the city center, but a police officer fired a revolver at close range, killing Asad. Shahid Rustam and Shahid Matiur were killed in this movement. Then thousands of students rushed towards the medical college.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, without any preparation, a huge mourning procession came out spontaneously. If the procession continues to be led by girls, the common people also join it. The two-mile-long procession, which immediately set out in response to Asad's death, circled the city's various streets and ended at the Shaheed Minar. The modern poet of Bengali literature Shamsur Rahman wrote his immortal poem 'Asad's shirt' after seeing the blood-stained shirt of Shahid Asad in the procession of countless students and people full of grief and emotion. The Central Students' Struggle Committee declared three days of mourning for the whole of East Pakistan over Assad's death.
The situation in Dhaka got out of the control of Governor Monem Khan when the strike started on the 24th. The repressive policy of the government could not keep the people down and in the end, President Ayub Khan fell. The gate was named Asad Gate to commemorate the sacrifice of Shaheed Asad. Later in 2010, the Bangladesh Liberation War Museum handed over the shirts of Shahid Asad's brother Professor HM Moniruzzaman Asad in a tribute to Shahid Asad, Shahid Rustam, and Shahid Matiur during the mass uprising of 1969.
Even today, Asad's sacrifice gives young people the strength to stand up against injustice.
“গুচ্ছ গুচ্ছ রক্তকরবীর মতো কিংবা সূর্যাস্তের
জলন্ত মেঘের মতো আসাদের শার্ট
উড়ছে হাওয়ায় নীলিমায়।”
– শামসুর রাহমান (আসাদের শার্ট)
