Moslem Uddin Milon. Photo : Collected

By Md Mamun Islam
 
RANGPUR, April 11, 2025 (BSS) – Moslem Uddin Milon, 36, an employee of a local jewelry store, had been regularly participating in the protest marches of the anti-discrimination student movement since early July last year.
 
He firmly believed that if all forms of discrimination were not eliminated from society and if Sheikh Hasina's fascist rule continued in the country, the future of his two sons, like many others, would be greatly affected.
 
At one stage, while taking part in the protest march of the movement, Abu Sayeed, a brilliant student of the Department of English of Begum Rokeya University, was killed in police firing on July 16 in front of the university.
 
Milon soon came to know the martyrdom news of Abu Sayeed as he was also participating in the protest march in the adjoining area that day in the city.
 
Upon learning of Abu Sayeed’s martyrdom, energetic young man Milon immediately swore in the name of Almighty Allah that he would overthrow the fascist Hasina regime and, if necessary, will sacrifice his life to uphold the honor of Abu Sayeed’s blood.
 
"It happened exactly like this, shattering all our dreams and orphaning our two sons. Milon was also martyred on July 19, just three days after Abu Sayeed’s martyrdom," said Dilruba Akhtar, 26, wife of martyr Milon, while talking to BSS at her home.
 
Born into a poor family in the city's Purbo Ganeshpur area under ward no 22, Milon, a devout and enterprising young man, worked as a manager at a jewelry store to earn a living.
 
He was the sixth of seven children, including two sons and five daughters, born to his parents.
 
His father, Mokhlesur Rahman, and mother, Marjina Begum, died a few years ago, and his two elder sisters also died in recent years.
 
Milon’s only elder brother, Mizanur Rahman, 50, lives separately with his family in a rented house, and the three surviving sisters are married and live with their husbands.
 
Although Milon was poor himself, he was known as a benefactor in the area for quickly coming forward to help people in need anytime and anywhere.
 
A good-natured, travelling lover and smiling man Milon was living happily with his wife Dilruba Akhter and two sons, Bayezid Bostami, 15, and Tanzid Al Hassan, 8.
 
Bayezid is in eighth grade at the city’s Lions School and College, and Tanzid is in first grade at Darus Salam Madrasa.
 
Dilruba said, “Due to the family’s financial hardship, Milon could only study up to the ninth grade. In 2009, when I was preparing for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations, he got into a love affair and married me.”
 
Dilruba is the youngest of her parents’ two sons and one daughter.
 
Her father, Dulal Sikder, 60, is a garment trader in Patgram upazila town of Lalmonirhat district. Her mother, Shilpi Sikder, is a housewife. Her two elder brothers are also garment traders in Patgram.
 
After marriage, Dilruba could not appear in the SSC examinations. In the following years, they had two sons.
 
Milon started working as a manager at the ‘Bourani Jewelers’ store in the Betpotti area of Rangpur city about eight years ago.
 
“Milon was a cheerful and religious person. We were living very happily with what we had. His dream was to educate our sons and make them good citizens. But, he couldn’t as fascist Hasina snatched his life,” said Dilruba.
 
Like every Hijri month, devout Milan was observing three ‘Nafl’ fasts on July 16, 17, and 18 in 2024. At that time, the anti-discrimination student movement was at its peak, and he was fasting and participating in protest marches daily.
 
"Apart from participating in protest marches, Milon made videos of the attacks and firing on student and public protest marches by the police and Awami League terrorists. When he returned home at night, he would show me videos of the daily events," said Dilruba.
 
On the night of July 16, Milon showed Dilruba the video of the police shooting of the hero of the July Revolution; Shaheed Abu Sayeed, like a bird being hunted.
 
She said, “That night, Milan told me that Abu Sayeed had heroically sacrificed his life. What should we do now! I swear in the name of Almighty Allah, I will not stop until the fascist Sheikh Hasina is overthrown.”
 
Even after Abu Sayeed’s martyrdom on July 16, Milon continued his fasts on July 17 and 18 and completed a three-day ‘Nafl’ fasting.
 
On the morning of July 19 (Friday), Milon woke up and called all the men, women, youth and teenagers of his area to his yard and requested them not to sit at home anymore.
 
He asked them to participate massively in the anti-discrimination student-people's movement protest marches to be held in the afternoon until the fall of Sheikh Hasina's fascist regime to save the nation.
 
Milon told his neighbors that sacrificing his life for a patriot like Abu Sayeed was not a small matter. It was not everyone's destiny.
 
“Let us all go to today's protest marches and bring down fascist Hasina. If necessary, let us become martyrs like Abu Sayeed and return to Almighty Allah as patriots," Dilruba said, quoting Milon's statement.
 
Dilruba said, "After making breakfast, I kept looking for Milon. But, I didn't find him. He returned at noon and said that he had gone to one of his brothers' houses where he had breakfast. He took a bath and started preparing to go to the mosque for Friday prayers."
 
At this moment, his eldest son Bayezid asked Milon to finish the construction of their house as soon as possible. Milon had recently started building the house on just four decimals of the land he inherited from his father.
 
“My father said, Bayezid, this is not possible for me. You will finish the construction of the house when you grow up in the future,” Bayezid quotes his father Milon, as saying.
 
Then, Milon went to the mosque to offer Juma prayers and Dilruba started cooking beef tripe (intestines) and mutton for Milan's lunch as he especially liked those.
 
"During this time, Milon returned home after Juma prayers. I was taking a bath in the bathroom after finishing cooking. He was hurriedly telling me, Dilruba, Dilruba, give me lunch quickly. I have to go to the protest marches, I don't have time," she said.
 
Dilruba sounded Milan to wait for a few minutes from inside the bathroom.
 
"A few minutes later, I came out of the bathroom and saw that Milan had eaten lunch so quickly that he had forgotten to eat his favorite cooked beef intestines. I was angry with him for eating so little even though I had cooked it for him," she said.
 
“Around 2 pm, Milan got a call from his friend and immediately left the house to join the protest marches. That was the last time I saw Milan in front of me because he never came back alive,” said Dilruba, crying, unable to control her emotions.
 
Dilruba was very tired that day. She ate lunch and then fell asleep, although this had never happened to her before.
 
"During this time, I had about 100 missed calls recorded on my mobile phone, which I couldn't have guessed while sleeping. My younger son Tanzid came running from outside and told me that Milon had been shot by the police, so I woke up quickly," she said.
 
Milon was killed on the spot in police firing at around 4:30 pm while thousands of students and the public were participating in an indomitable protest on the west side of Raja Ram Mohan Market near Rangpur City Market.
 
"With the help of locals, his colleagues took Milon to Rangpur Medical College Hospital where the doctor on duty there declared him dead. His body was brought home at 9:30 pm," said Dilruba with teary eyes.
 
His Namaj-E-Janaza was held at the Baitul Ma'mur Jam-e-Mosque in Purbo Ganeshpur area after Zuhr prayers on July 20. His body was buried at the Munshipara Central Graveyard in the city.
 
Dilruba, her sons, Milon's sister and brother, their neighbors and relatives have called on the interim government to ensure justice through exemplary punishment for Milan's killers as soon as possible.