Former Bangladesh Chhatra League General Secretary Roton Dies

❐ Staff Reporter

Former general secretary of the central Chhatra League, Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton, has passed away.

He died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kolkata, India, on Saturday, October 10. He was suffering from lung cancer.

Earlier, on October 4, his health condition deteriorated. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Apollo Hospital in Kolkata in a critical condition. He eventually died while undergoing treatment there.

According to close friends, Rotan was in Kolkata for treatment before August 5, 2024. After the news of his illness spread, concern arose among former Chhatra League leaders, political colleagues and well-wishers. Many people took to social media to pray for his recovery.

Awami League Organizing Secretary Enamul Haque Shamim announced the matter in a post on Facebook.

He wrote, “Former General Secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League, our dearest brother, comrade-in-arms, companion in joy and sorrow, and most beloved Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Rotan is no longer with us (Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un). The pain of losing a beloved younger brother and fellow fighter on the road is beyond words. It is very painful to think that Rotan is no longer with us so soon.”

Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton served as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of Bangladesh Chhatra League from 2006 to 2011. The president of that committee was Mahmud Hasan Ripon. He became a symbol of hope and confidence of the workers by assuming the role of General Secretary during the party’s critical period.

Despite being widely persecuted and oppressed during the BNP-Jamaat regime, he firmly held the reins of the Bangladesh Chhatra League even during the caretaker government.

In addition to Chhatra League politics, he was also active in Awami League politics. He collected the Awami League nomination form for the Chittagong-6 (Raujan) constituency in the 2018 National Parliament election. He was also nominated as a member of the Awami League’s Labor and Manpower Subcommittee in 2021.

The death of Rotan, a resident of Raojan, Chittagong, has cast a shadow of grief among his political colleagues and well-wishers.

Details about the repatriation of his body, funeral and burial were not immediately available.