Toilets Built Around Shaheed Minar

❐ Staff Reporter

An unprecedented picture of extreme neglect and contempt for the memory of the heroic martyrs of the great language movement has emerged in the premises of the traditional Suritola Government Model Primary School in Old Dhaka. A sacred Shahid Minar, built many years ago in memory of the language martyrs, has been literally blocked and insulted, with toilets and new concrete structures being built around it.

In the pictures circulating on social media and in local conscious circles, it can be seen that this traditional white colored Shahid Minar, which stood carelessly and neglected, has been swallowed up by a new concrete structure. A toilet has been built right next to the minar, which not only spoils the beauty of this sacred monument, but also shows extreme disrespect for the sacrifice of the language martyrs.

There has been intense outrage over how such an unwise decision was made on a school campus.

Ever since the incident came to the attention of the general public, academics and language movement historians have been strongly condemning it. According to them, the Shaheed Minar is not an ordinary brick wall, but a symbol of Bengali existence and pride.

Analysts’ question: “Isn’t it a gross insult to build such a dirty structure in memory of the language martyrs whose blood we speak in Bengal today? What lesson is being taught to the young children in the schools where they are growing up by blocking the Shahid Minar like this?”

Local residents said that this Shahid Minar is very old. Every year on February 21st, International Mother Language Day, floral tributes were paid here. But after this new construction of the school, the dignity of the Shahid Minar has been completely destroyed. Locals are pointing fingers at the school’s board of directors and administration as to why a sensitive structure like a toilet had to be built right next to the Shahid Minar.

The conscious community strongly demands that these derogatory structures and toilets around the Shahid Minar be immediately removed to restore the sanctity and glory of the minar. At the same time, they are seeking strict intervention from higher authorities to ensure the proper status of the Shahid Minar in every educational institution in the country.