DU Correspondent :
BUET student Abrar Fahad, who was beaten to death by leaders and activists of the Chhatra League, has been remembered through a series of significant events, including rallies, discussions, and various activities organized by different political and socio-cultural student organizations, such as the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir, marking the fifth anniversary of his death.
In addition, a memorial titled “Eight Pillars of Anti-Aggression” (Agrasan Birodhi Aat Stambha) was rebuilt at Polashi Crossing, near the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
This memorial, which was demolished by the Awami League, police, and Chhatra League just hours after its initial erection in 2020, serves as a tribute to Abrar Fahad.
The memorial features eight pillars that symbolize key values such as sovereignty, democracy, mass protection, communal harmony, economic self-reliance, protection of local industries, agriculture, rivers, forests, and ports, cultural independence, and human dignity.
Acting editor of Amar Desh newspaper Mahmudur Rahman and the convenor of ‘Abrar Fahad Smriti Sangsad,’ Akhter Hossen, unveiled the foundation stone after a memorial rally organized by the ‘Abrar Fahad Smriti Sangsad’ this afternoon. A memorial meeting was also held at the site.
Earlier, a solidarity rally was arranged by a platform named ‘Nirapod Bangladesh Chai’ in front of the National Museum in honor of Abrar Fahad’s fifth death anniversary.
The memorial meeting included speeches from Bangladesh Labour Party Chairman Dr. Mustafizur Rahman Iran, AB Party leader Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad, Jatiya Nagorik Committee convener Nasir Uddin Patwary, Abrar Fahad’s brother Abrar Faiyaj, father Borkot Ullah, DU unit Shibir president Md. Abu Shadik, and coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, and Abu Baker Majumder.
Comparing Abrar Fahad to 19th-century Bengali freedom fighter Shahid Titumir, Amar Desh acting editor Mahmudur Rahman demanded that Bangabandhu Avenue be renamed Abrar Fahad Avenue. He stated, “Sheikh Mujib has become the icon of ousted Sheikh Hasina’s fascism, while Abrar has been a powerful voice against Indian hegemony and domination.”
Abrar Fahad’s father, Borkot Ullah, called for maximum justice for those involved in his son’s murder and requested that the administration ensure no other student suffers a similar fate in the future, adding, “My son was killed only because he spoke boldly against injustice.”
“If we had wanted to hold this solidarity rally a year ago, we would have feared an attack from the BCL or that the police would come and arrest us,” said Abrar Fayyaz, the younger brother of Abrar Fahad.
Fayyaz also urged authorities to classify the BCL as a terrorist organization responsible for torturing many students on various campuses, labeling them Shibir. He emphasized, “We will not allow the same culture to restart, nor will we permit any student to be tortured or killed like my brother.”
Condemning some political parties’ calls for forgiving and rehabilitating the Awami League, Hasnat Abdullah, coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, stated, “Even if the Awami League were imprisoned for the next 100 years for their crimes over the last 16 years-including silencing voices, corrupting the judiciary, stealing people’s voting rights, and torturing students in public university dormitories-their punishment would not be enough.”
Later, he demanded the abolition of the current national constitution and its reform in accordance with the demands of the masses, along with declaring the previous three national parliament elections as “illegal.”
“India and Delhi are our enemies, and this is as clear as daylight. They have oppressed us for years through the fascist Hasina and her government,” Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad of the AB Party remarked.
Referring to the Awami League as “Mirzafor” (traitors), he added, “Abrar Fahad is the first person killed by the fascists for speaking against India’s domination over Bangladesh, which also questioned our foreign policies with India.
More than 1,600 people and students have been killed, and several thousand injured by Hasina’s forces for the same realization that Abrar Fahad had five years ago.”
On October 6, 2019, suspecting Abrar Fahad of being affiliated with Shibir for posting on Facebook against Indian aggression, several Chhatra League leaders took him from his room (No. 1011) at BUET’s Sher-e-Bangla Hall and brutally beat him to death.
Since 2019, Abrar Fahad has become a symbol of the torture and extrajudicial killings that have occurred under the Awami League’s regime, and he has remained relevant in the context of the July mass uprising.