A pillar covered with white tiles can be seen right in the middle of the beehive intersection, which is busy with traffic and people. Thousands of people travel through this intersection every day. But 90% of people do not know what this pillar actually is and why! The pillar is the burial place of the first martyr Farooq Iqbal and the last martyr Taslim Uddin.
What is wrong with the common people walking around the three sides of the two martyrs' graves? The first and last martyr of the liberation war is lying here. Garbage strewn around the mausoleum and motorcycle parking make it look like a neglected common construction.
On March 3, 1971, when the non-cooperation movement started under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to get rid of the subjugation of Pakistan, Farooq Iqbal, the first-year student leader of the Chhatra League of Abujar Giffari College, was staying in Rampura, Dhaka with the students' procession. He was shot dead by Pakistani forces to disperse the agitated crowd. Farooq Iqbal was martyred. At that time, he was buried at the beehive intersection.
Taslim Uddin, the last martyr of the liberation war, was buried next to Farooq Iqbal. He took part in the war when he was a ninth grade standard student of Siddheshwari Boys High School. He was killed by assassins on December 17 on his way home after the war.
In 2008, after 37 years of the Liberation War, the Dhaka City Corporation built a mausoleum at the martyrs' burial place. However, since no one has been given the responsibility of taking care of the tomb, it has been neglected and neglected for a long time.
The memories of these two brave martyrs and the current status of their tombs were discussed with ANM Zulfikar Haroon, elder brother of martyred Farooq Iqbal and Jahangir Hasan Manik, brother of martyred Taslim Uddin.
Zulfiqar Harun, the elder brother of Shahid Farooq while talking to Barta24, recalling his brother's memories of that time, said that on the day Farooq was martyred, in Paltan Maidan, Bangabandhu was supposed to come to the Chhatra League meeting. To organize that meeting, Farooq left home early in the morning without breakfast. I was there when Farooq left for Rampura with a procession from in front of Abujar Giffari College. I came home. After a while someone came and said that someone had been shot by Pakistani forces in Rampura. Amma heard this and said 'God knows which mother's chest is empty'. I came out of the house and saw a boy standing with Farooq's shoes. I saw what happened! That was the last time I saw Farooq. This is how Harun was telling the story of the martyrdom of brother Farooq. And said that on that day, student leader Bir Bikram Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, ASM Abdur Rob, Noore Alam Siddiqui, Abdul Quddus Makhan and many other leaders were present at Farooq's funeral.
Zulfikar Harun said about the name not being included in the list of freedom fighters, we have never applied from the family to include the name in the list. A form was given once during the Ershad government. But father did not allow applying. The father's only words are 'My son has been martyred, it is an honor. We will not take any benefit from the government in return. No more applications were made after that. We have not been contacted by the government either. Only when March 3 comes, everyone forgets again by putting flowers on the graves, having a little discussion. However, if the government had taken any measures to highlight the first martyr of the Liberation War to the young generation, then everyone would have known about him.
When the body of martyr Farooq Iqbal was brought home on March 3, thousands of freedom fighters marched in front of the coffin. Who knew that in the courtyard of the house, another great son of the country lover, Shaheed Taslim Uddin - this is how Jahangir Hasan Manik started the story of his brother.
Shaheed Taslim Uddin's brother Jahangir Hasan Manik said, when thousands of people brought the body of Farooq Bhai (martyr Farooq Iqbal) home to shout slogans, after seeing this scene, my 13-year-old brother said to his mother, 'Look, mother, how lucky Farooq Bhai is! Thousands of people are marching with his body! His death marks the beginning of a new history!' Mother scolds, "Shut up! What a waste of time!" The mother's scolding, the brother then became silent.
On the night of March 25, the brutality of the Pak army began in Dhaka city, and the massacre began. The fire that Taslim saw in Dhaka that night, the fire was born in Taslim. Parents noticed that somehow he became silent. Like before, he does not have fidgetiness, and does not speak properly to anyone. Even when asked to know, the brother did not tell his parents. In this way, Taslim cannot be found suddenly one day in March or April. He could not be found even after many searches in different places. A few days later, it was learned that Azim Khokon, the then manager of Alauddin Suite in our area, helped send Bachchu and Taslim to war.
13-year-old Taslim fought on the battlefield. As he was not at home, meanwhile, the suspicions of the Razakars of the city had joined the Taslim Liberation War. So, after a few days, the Pakistani army came to the house and annoyed my father very much. 8 times father was taken away by the army. As no trace of Taslim was found, our house was also set on fire. We had to go elsewhere because of the oppression of these Pakistanis.
The bloody war ends. Taslims won. A new morning December 16 emerged. The country is independent today. The people of the area are chanting victory slogans to welcome the freedom fighters. One by one many others have returned, including the head of the Taslim party. But Taslim did not return.
Jahangir Hasan Manik, the brother of Shaheed Taslim Uddin, wiped his tears because he was buried next to the grave of Farooq Bhai, Taslim, who jumped into the liberation war after seeing the dead body of Farooq Bhai.
In this way, the first and last martyrs of the liberation war are buried side by side at Mouchak intersection in Dhaka.
However, seeing the current condition of Farooq-Taslim's tomb, the two brothers of the two martyrs said with some regret that if the government does not manage and preserve the tomb properly, then the two families will do as much as possible. At least the place of the tomb should be kept clean and the two martyrs' names should be placed there. So that people can see from afar and know about Farooq-Taslim.