Remembered: Nur Hossain
[Rezwan, Germany.]
Bangladeshi blogosphere observed November 10 as Nur Hossain day.
Hossain, (Shahid) Nur (1961-1987) a victim in a mass movement against Ershad-regime in 1987. Born in 1961 at Narinda in Dhaka Nur Hossain was the son of Mujibar Rahman, an auto-rickshaw driver, whose ancestral home was at village Jhatibunia under Mathbaria upazila of Pirozpur district.
His family had been living at 79/1 Banagram Road in Dhaka since liberation. Nur Hossain received his primary education from the Radhasundari Primary School at Banagram Road, and while a student of class VIII at Graduate High School in Dhaka, he left school and received training in motor driving. As an activist in politics he was the publicity secretary of the Banagram unit committee of Dhaka City Awami League.
As a part of the long drawn movement against the autocratic rule of President Hussain Muhammad Ershad, the alliance of the opposition political parties declared ‘Dhaka Blockade’ programme on 10 November 1987. The aims and objectives of the programme were to realise the demands for resignation of Ershad government and holding of Jatiya Sangsad elections under a neutral caretaker government. Nur Hossain had his bare back and chest painted with the slogan ‘Sairachar nipat jak, Ganatantra mukti pak’ (Down with autocracy, let democracy be established). Looking so prominent in the crowd, Nur Hossain was shot dead by the police at the Zero-point in front of the General Post Office. The slogan imprinted on his body soon turned into the slogan of the irresistable mass movement which eventually led to the fall of the Ershad-government on 6 December 1990.
To commemorate his sacrifice in the struggle for the restoration of democracy in the country, the Zero-square in Dhaka city was renamed after him as Nur Hossain Square, and a postal stamp was issued in honour of his memorable sacrifice.
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Nur Hossain (Bangla:নূর হোসেন) (1961-November 10, 1987) is perhaps the most widely known martyr in the movement in Bangladesh against the dictatorship of General Hossain Mohammad Ershad. Neither well-off nor highly educated, Nur Hossain embodied the struggle of common people of the country.
Nur Hossain was born in Narinda, Dhaka, in 1961. His father was an autorickshaw driver. Hossain had to quit school while in the eighth grade and got training as a motor driver. He was an activist of the opposition party Awami League.
On November 10, 1987, during the Dhaka Blockade program, Nur Hossain painted his chest and back with the slogans স্বৈরাচার নীপাত যাক, গণতন্ত্র মুক্তি পাক (transliterated as Sairachar nipat jak, Ganatantra mukti pak, translation: Down with autocracy, let democracy be established). He was shot dead by the police. A photograph of Nur Hossain showing his back taken shortly before his death, has become an important icon of the struggle for democracy in Bangladesh. Mass movements caused Hossain Mohammad Ershad to resign in December, 1990. Each year, November 10 is commemorated as the Shaheed Nur Hossain Dibosh or Martyr Nur Hossain Day in Bangladesh. Cultural and political organizations run special programs to observe the day.[1]
