Who is Raju in whose name The anti-terrorism Raju sculpture on the road in the Teachers’ Student Center (TSC) area of Dhaka University. This sculpture is known as a symbol of protest by students from all over the country, including Dhaka University.
This sculpture was built to keep alive the memory of Moin Hossain Raju, who was shot dead while protesting terrorism on the Dhaka University campus. Today, Thursday (March 13), is the death anniversary of the person in whose name this sculpture is named.
Raju was martyred on March 13, 1992. Coincidentally, the holy month of Ramadan was still going on. The family members learned about Raju’s incident over the phone during Iftar.
That evening, Raju’s parents and family members rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. After Raju’s body was buried, they learned about the circumstances of his shooting.
Who is Raju in whose name Raju passed his higher secondary in 1987 and was admitted to the Department of Soil, Water and Environment of Dhaka University. He was admitted to Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah Hall.
Raju was involved in the politics of the leftist student organization Chhatra Union before coming to campus. His connection with the politics of the Chhatra Union became even closer after coming to Dhaka University.
When Raju came to the university, the movement against the autocratic Ershad was going on. Raju was active in that movement. When he was martyred, he was the social welfare secretary of the Dhaka University branch of the Chhatra Union.
After Raju was martyred, the anti-terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture was built in 1997 on the road in the TSC area in his memory. The sculpture was inaugurated on September 17 of the same year. The sculpture was designed by sculptor Shyamal Chowdhury.
After that, for almost three decades, the foot of the Raju Sculpture has been used as a place for various movements and programs by students of various educational institutions including Dhaka University. The sculpture has become a symbol of student protest.
Who is Raju in whose name Several important programs of the first phase of the mass movement of students and the public that led to the fall of the Awami League government in July-August last year were held at the foot of the Raju Statue.
After the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, the Raju Statue has also been the center of various movements and protests.
Hasnat Abdullah, one of the coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement that led the movement to topple the Sheikh Hasina government, has been seen calling on students to come to the Raju Statue for protest programs at various times since August 5. She has posted on Facebook several times with the words ‘Everyone come to Raju’.
How Raju was martyred
Businessman Abdullah Mahmud Khan currently lives in Dhaka. He is a close friend of Shaheed Raju’s department and hall. The two of them lived in the same room in Shaheedullah Hall. The grief of losing a dear friend still haunts him.
In March 2019, Abdullah Mahmud Khan gave an account of the incident of Raju’s murder to Prothom Alo. According to him, Raju left on the evening of March 12, saying he would return at 9 am the next day. But Raju was late in coming to campus the next day. After waiting for some time, Mahmud and his family went to play cricket. Raju arrived at the campus around 10 am to 10:30 am. Hearing the news that a fight was going on, Raju rushed to Madhu’s canteen.
There, Nationalist Chhatra Dal activists were beating up an activist of Islami Chhatra Shibir. Raju also got involved in the fight. At one stage, his hand was cut off.
Mahmud said, “We came to Shahidullah Hall around 2:30 pm and saw Raju’s hand with a bandage on it. I heard about the fight in the morning from Raju himself.”