Shaheed Minars in the UK and Europe
Ansar Ahmed Ullah
Contributing Editor,Shottobani
London: The UK’s Central Shaheed Minar lies inside Altab Ali Park in Whitechapel, East London. The abstract monument comprises five white column-like structures. The larger structure represents a mother protecting her children in the form of smaller columns, with the rising red sun behind. In English, the Shaheed Minar is also referred toas the Martyr’s Monument. It encapsulates an essential aspect of Bengali history. The Shaheed Minar has a profound cultural and historical significance to the Bengali community. It commemorates the five Bengali students shot dead on 21 February 1952 in a demonstration in support of the right to use the Bengali language within Pakistan.The Shaheed Minar in Altab Ali Park was the culmination of the partnership between Tower Hamlets Council and the local Bengali community. It was partly funded by contributions from fifty-four local Bangladeshi community organisations based in the East End. The calls from community leaders prompted Tower Hamlets Council to allocate a sizeable area to accommodate the memorial. The Shaheed Minar was unveiled at an official ceremony on 17 February 1999 by the speaker of Bangladesh’s Parliament, Humayun Rashid Choudhury. He was joined by local MPs, Councillors and Community Leaders. The Shaheed Minar is fifteen feet high and raised on a three-foot base.
Once upon a time, Bengalisin London, Oldham, Birmingham, Manchester and other towns and cities would gather in various Bangladeshi centres or community centresto make replica ShaheedMinar of wood covered with cloth. British Bengalis used to offer their heart-wrenching offerings to those temporary Shaheed Minars. The Bengali youth of Oldham took the initiative to build a permanent Shaheed Minar. In 1990, the Youth Association raised the first demand for establishing the first Shaheed Minar. The Bengali youth of Oldham communicated with the local government. Capitalising on the organised energy and initiative of local Bengalis, the issue became especially important to Oldham Council, and eventually, the Council provided a grant of £28,000 for the construction of the Shaheed Minar. Even the land for the Minarwas allocated by the local administration. Oldham Bangladesh Association, Oldham Youth Association, and the local Awami Jubo League had a leading role in constructing theShaheed Minar. Undoubtedly, this was an outstanding achievement for Bengalis. This is the first time a permanent Shahid Minarwas built outside Bangladesh in memory of the language martyrs. The OldhamShaheed Minar, built on the model of Dhaka’s CentralShaheed Minar, was inaugurated on 5 October 1997.
On 8 August 2004, Britain’s third Shaheed Minar was inaugurated in Luton. Most of Luton’s Bengali community lives in the Bury Park area. The town is the fourth most densely populated by Bengalis. The local Bengali youth formed the Bangladesh Youth League in Luton during the height of racist violence in Britain in the 1970s. The Bangladesh Youth League was established in 1979 at the site where the Centre for Youth & Community Development (CYCD) currently operates on Leagrave Road, Bury Park, Luton. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Bangladesh Youth League, the organisation’s founders took the initiative of constructing Shaheed Minar in Luton.Maruf Ahmed, the then Chairperson of Bangladesh Youth League, said that on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Youth League, an initiative was taken to set up this Shaheed Minar. At that time, the community and businesspeople wanted to support this initiative, but it was decided to complete Shaheed Minar’s work with the organisation’s funds. About £10,000 was spent to set up the Shaheed Minar on the organisation’s land. Shaheed Minar was inaugurated by the then High Commissioner of Bangladesh High Commission Mofazzal Karim and former Lord Bill Mackenzie. Also present at that historic moment were former British Member of Parliament Margaret Moran, Councillor Tahir Ali, former Councillor and Deputy Mayor late Ramiz Ali, Bangladesh Youth League Trustee Samsuzzaman, Abdul Halim, Councillor Iraq Chowdhury, Romel Khan and others.
Birmingham has the second largest Bengali population in Britain. Chairperson of the Birmingham Shaheed Minar Committee. Gabru Miah said that Bengalis here have been trying to establish a permanent Shaheed Minar in Birmingham for a long time. Chairperson of Bangladesh Multipurpose Centre Alhaj Nasir Ahmed said that at the end of 2009, at the Multipurpose board meeting, a decision was made to construct a permanent Shaheed Minar inside the Multipurpose Centre on Gabru Mia’s proposal. The Bangladesh Multipurpose Centre authorities adopted the plan to build a permanent Shaheed Minar with their funding.Haji Abdul Qadir Abul, General Secretary of the Birmingham Bangladesh National Day Celebration Parishad, said, within nine days of laying the foundation stone on 7 February 2011, the Shaheed Minar was inaugurated on 16 February 2011, led by Alhaj Nasir Ahmed, chairperson of the Bangladesh Multipurpose Centre, along with the directors and the leaders of the Bengali community. In the early hours of 21 February 2011, the Bengalis of Birmingham paid their respects at Shaheed Minar for the first time.
The Suffolk Bangladeshi Society in Ipswich organises various events throughout the year on Bangladesh’s art, literature and culture. Bangladesh also celebrates different national days. At that time, local Bengalispaid tribute to language martyrs by making wooden replicas of Shaheed Minar in various community centres.In 2012, the Suffolk Bangladeshi Society undertook plans to build a permanent Shaheed Minar in Ipswich. Such reverence for the language and the sacrifice of the Bengalis inspired the Ipswich Council to construct a permanent Martyr’s Monument. In 2015, work began on the Martyrs’ Minar in Alexandra Park, Ipswich, fully funded by the local Council. On 21 February 2016, Britain’s fifth permanent Shaheed Minar was inaugurated in Alexandra Park.
The sixth Shaheed Minar in the UK stands tall in the historic city of Cardiff, Wales, Britain. In 2007, the construction of a Shaheed Minar was undertaken to fulfil a long-standing dream of the Bengali community of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. After ten years of relentless efforts, the list of pledgers was announced at a gala dinner party attended by dignitaries, including the then Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Dr Dipu Moni. On 5 November 2018, the foundation stone was laid by Bangladesh High Commissioner Nazmul Quaunine, Cardiff Lord Mayor Diane Rees and dignitaries. The Shaheed Minar, the pride of the Bengali nation, is fully visible today in the designated space provided by Cardiff County Council in the city’s Grangemore Park.On 20 February 2019, the Shaheed Minar works were completed. The total cost was £186,645. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina contributed £69,000, and the rest of the money was raised by contributions from the Bengali community. Cardiff City Council provided the land.
In European cities, a permanent Shaheed Minar, a memorial to the historic Language Movement of 1952, was inaugurated in Rome, the Italian capital, in 2011 by Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Dipu Moni. BangladeshEmbassy in Rome constructed the monument at a local park to symbolise International Mother Language Day.Major world languages have been engraved on the mosaic work of its columns. Official sources said that well-known Italian artist Paolo W Tamburella also assisted in its construction. Dr Dipu Mini said, ‘The monument not only reflects the history of Bangladesh but also acts as a symbol of universal peace and harmony,’
Former Italian Ambassador to Dhaka Itala Maria Marta Occhi, vice president of Italy-Bangladesh Association for Friendship and Cooperation, Prof Francesco Zannini, Ambassador of Afghanistan and Dean of ESCAP Group of Ambassadors in Italy Mohammad Musa Maroofi and Bangladesh Ambassador in Rome Masud Bin Momen addressed the inauguration function.
The first initiative for setting up a Shaheed Minar in the Netherlands was taken by a group of Bengalidiasporas led by community activist Monwar Mohmmad in 2011. A petition with signatures of the leading community people with the appeal for establishing a Shaheed Minar was handed over to threeMayors of three cities- Amsterdam, The Hauge and Rotterdam. The mayor’s offices of Rotterdam and Amsterdam said that since the majority of the Bengali community lived in the Hague, you should apply to The Hague City Office. Then contact was made with the Mayor of the Hague. Mr Aartsen was the Mayor of the City. BangladeshAmbassador in the Netherlands, Dr Mohammad Ali Sarkar, was approached and assured he would take up the issue with the authority concerned. Then, his successor ambassador, Mr Sheikh Mohammad Belal, took up the initiative, and the Dutch government approved the request in 2017. The foundation of the Shahid Minar was laid in 2018, and in 2019, the first flower wreaths were placed on the altar of the Shaheed Minar. First Secretary Shahidul Haque and Ambassador Sheikh Mohammad Belal attended the ceremony.
The first permanent Shahid Minarat Bernard Marie Square of the St Denis University in Parissymbolised the language movement was inaugurated in Paris jointly by St. Denis Mayor Mathieu Hanotin, Chief Advisor of the Shaheed Minar Implementation Committee Kazi Enayet Ullah and Sikano Bengali Association President Saruf Sadiul. As a result of this Shaheed Minar, built on the model of the central Shaheed Minar in Bangladesh, the long-time dream of French Bengali expatriates has been fulfilled.On 8 October 2023, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Culture, KM Khalid, congratulated and thanked the mayor over the phone for his full cooperation in constructing the permanent Shaheed Minar in Paris. After this, the State Minister’s speech was read in French and Bengali.Addressing the chief guest at the opening ceremony, Mayor Mathieu Hanota paid deep respect to language martyrs. He saidhe is proud to have such a memorial on Martyrs Day and International Mother Language Day in his area.He also said that every year on 21st February, International Mother Language Day will be observed with due dignity on behalf of the mayor’s office. Until then, Bengalis living in France used to pay their respects with flowers by building a temporary Shahid Minar at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.Kazi Enayet Ullah, Secretary General of All European Bangladesh Association (AEBA) and chief coordinator of the implementation committee said, “This Martyr’s Minar will stand tall as a sign of Bengali language and culture in the heart of Paris, one of the cultural centres of the world. Non-Bengalis and the next generation will get to know the glorious history of the Bengali language from there. Swarup Sadiul, president of Sikano Bengali Association, the main developer of Shaheed Minar, said, “Thank you to those whose tireless efforts and single-minded efforts have made the dream of building such a language martyrs’ monument come true in this great city of Paris.”
In 2015, a Shaheed Minar was also established in Lisbon, Portugal and 2016, in Porto. Beyond the harsh reality of life, expatriate Bengalis are haunted by the pull of patriotism, waking up on the first of February. Twenty-first stands for rebellion and stands tall in Britain and other European cities as a symbol of the bravery of ‘no’ or ‘victory’.
The Shaheed Minar holds significant importance to the British-European Bengali community. It stands for the linguistic heritage and recognises and celebrates the community’s cultural roots. The Shaheed Minar upholds the image of the Bengali language in the UK and European cities. In February 1999, the United Nations recognised the Bengali Language Movement. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day to be observed globally in recognition of the sacrifices of the Bengali language martyrs who laid down their lives to establish the rightful place of the Bengali language and to preserve the differences in cultures and linguistic diversity that foster tolerance and respect for others. This incorporated the BengaliLanguage Movement into world history as a unique example of the struggle for freedom of expression. The declaration of 21st February as International Mother Language Day has transcended Bangladesh’s national borders and acquired international significance.The declaration by UNESCO designating 21st February as the International Mother Language Day has placed Bangladesh on the world’s cultural map with a highly positive image.
(Information for this article was sourced from Juyel Raaj, Mokis Monsur, A S M Masum and Bikash Chowdhury Barua)