Open letter to the people of Gopalganj

Dear Gopalganj residents

Please accept my greetings. Today I am writing to you with a very sad and aching heart. On this day last year, I wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina informing her about what was going to happen in Bangladesh, expressing my concerns and telling her what the Awami League government should do. That letter probably did not reach the Honorable Prime Minister – I am an ordinary person, it is not possible that it did not reach her. And successively we saw the decline of Bangladesh, the seizure of power and the rise of the opponents of independence.

Today, after 1 year, I am writing an open letter again, but this time to you. To each and every one of you. To every brother, sister, friend, and elder of my Gopalganj.

I do not see Gopalganj as just the heart of Awami League or a vote bank. I see Gopalganj as the cradle of Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty. The man who led the independence struggle of Bangladesh, made Bangladesh independent – became the people’s “Bangabandhu” – was born in Gopalganj. At least 18 people were killed in the attack by the terrorist forces of Yunus-Panchatandav and Dirty Masterminds in Gopalganj today. These 18 people represent 1.2 million people of Gopalganj. These 18 people have shown with their eyes that if they are united, even Pharaoh is forced to return. In the last 11 months, Gopalganj has become like Dhaka University in 1971. The center of our hope and trust.

1.2 million people of Gopalganj have raised their heads today for the 180 million people of Bangladesh. Yunus’s radical police-army has killed 18 people. There are another 1.1 million 99 thousand 982 people in Gopalganj. How many will they kill? 100? 1000? 10000? Still, there will be 1.1 million 90 thousand people in Gopalganj. And the whole of Bangladesh will be inspired by the people of Gopalganj.

I was not born in Gopalganj. I live outside the country. Today I feel very much that if I had been born in Gopalganj, I would have considered myself blessed. Still, I am a Bangladeshi, I know that the people of Gopalganj consider me one of them. Every soldier of Bangabandhu, who holds the liberation war and independence of Bangladesh in their hearts, is a proud “Gopali”.

While Yunus-Panchatandav and the masterminds have silenced the freedom-loving people of Bangladesh, ordinary people like me are raising the issue of the ongoing oppression of the people of Gopalganj, the people of Bangladesh, to the world from different parts of the world; and the proof that our efforts are succeeding is the intense anger of the BNP-Jamaat-NCP goons against us from abroad.

Our capabilities are limited, but our morale is high. Most of those who took up arms in the 1971 Liberation War were peasants, workers, and the masses. Ordinary people like us. The mighty Pakistani army was defeated by those ordinary peasants, workers, and the masses. One day, we will also defeat this Western army’s slave Yunus army, Insha Allah.

I want to tell the people of Gopalganj today – you are Bangladesh. The Bangladesh we saw in 1971, you have proven today, is not completely lost. I see Sheikh Mujib in each of your 1.2 million people. To me, every person in Gopalganj is a “Khoka” beloved by his parents, a “Miah Bhai” beloved by the villagers, and a “Mujib Bhai” beloved by his fellow soldiers.

I stand and salute every person in Gopalganj. We are grateful to you. The responsibility of Bangladesh is in your hands today. Our fight may be long, but we will not lose. If we learn from history, then we know that there is no defeat in the path of justice. We will continue to be attacked, sued, oppressed, and tortured, but at the end of the long road, the smile of victory will be ours, and the people of Gopalganj will lead that victory.

There is no death of Gopalganj. There is no death of Sonar Bangla.

Long live Bangla. Long live Bangabandhu. Long live Bangladesh.

Yours, dear,

Shamim Ahmed
July 17, 2025