Happay Birthday Shahid Janani

Special Correspondent | May 3, 2025

Jahanara Imam remains revered as Shahid Janani (Mother of Martyrs) among generations upholding the Liberation War’s spirit, with many affectionately addressing her as ‘Amma’ in solidarity with her martyred son.

During our 1971 Liberation War, her eldest son Shafi Imam Rumi fought as a freedom fighter before being captured, tortured and martyred by Pakistani forces. His comrades later honored Jahanara Imam as the symbolic mother of all martyrs, bestowing the title ‘Shahid Janani’.

Her historic activism began when Jamaat-e-Islami appointed war criminal Ghulam Azam as its chief in December 1991. In response, she led the formation of the Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee in January 1992, later expanding it into a national coalition of 70 organizations.

On March 26, 1992, Jahanara Imam presided over the landmark People’s Court at Suhrawardy Udyan that sentenced Azam to death for wartime atrocities. When the BNP government filed sedition charges against her, she mobilized massive protests, submitting demands to both PM Khaleda Zia and opposition leader Sheikh Hasina.

The movement gained global attention after police brutality against protesters in March 1993. Subsequent investigations identified eight additional war criminals including Nizami, Sayeedi and Qader Molla.

After battling cancer, Shahid Janani passed away in Michigan on June 26, 1994. Her legacy inspired Bangladesh’s eventual war crimes tribunals (2010-2016) that executed several convicted perpetrators.

The National Mourning Day observed every July 6 commemorates her extraordinary courage in seeking justice for 1971’s martyrs.