Sayed Street Memory Stamp Wrapped with Red Cloth for One and Half Months

The Street Memory Stamp installed in front of the Shaheed Abu Sayed Gate of Begum Rokeya University (BRUR) in Rangpur, Bangladesh on honor of the first martyr of the July Movement, Abu Sayed, had been wrapped in red cloth for one and a half months due to factual inconsistencies in the memorial message.

Students have alleged that, even after such a long time, no step had been taken by the authorities to correct the errors.

According to university administration sources, the memory stamp was installed in front of the university’s Gate No. 1 on July 16 this year, at the initiative of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives (LGRD) and funded by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), in remembrance of Abu Sayed’s sacrifice in the July Movement.

To commemorate the Anti-discrimination Student Movement—known as the July Movement, the Interim Government of Bangladesh declared July 16 as Shaheed Dibosh (Martyrs’ Day) earlier this year, in remembrance of Abu Sayed’s martyrdom. Following this declaration, the Ministry of LGRD took the initiative to set up the Abu Sayed Street Memory Stamp at the site of his martyrdom in front of BRUR’s Gate No. 1.

According to eyewitnesses, on the morning of July 16 this year, marking Shaheed Dibosh and Abu Sayed’s first martyrdom anniversary, the inauguration ceremony of the stamp was supposed to be conducted by Prof. Dr. Asif Nazrul, Adviser to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, along with Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Ministry of Water Resources, among other guests. They were expected to unveil the red curtail from the memory stamp. However, instead of doing so, they inaugurated the university gate and museum foundation stone inside the Abu Sayed Gate premises.

Later, the red covering was removed from the memory stamp by Abu Sayed’s father, Mokbul Hossain, University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman, Prof. Dr. Foyez Ahmed, and several other guests.

Soon afterward, inconsistencies surfaced in the commemorative message—as the wrong birth year of Abu Sayed, the failure to mention him as a student of Begum Rokeya University, and misrepresentation of his martyrdom’s incident came in front. These errors sparked debate and widespread criticism on social media, leading to a storm of protest.

The inscription on the Abu Sayed Street Memory Stamp read:

“Son of Rangpur, Shaheed Abu Sayed. His head remained ever high against tyranny and oppression. He used to say, ‘If needed, I will embrace martyrdom, but I will never bow down.’ On July 16, he extended both hands towards the sky and embraced martyrdom. Thereafter, all of Bangladesh rose with the vow of eternal revolution.”

In addition, students alleged that his actual date of birth—December 10, 2000 was replaced with January 1, 2001 in the memorial message.

Two days after the installation, Abu Sayed’s co-activists and fellow students wrapped the Street Memory Stamp with red cloth due to the inconsistencies on last July 18. At that time, former Anti-discrimination Movement Coordinators of BRUR, Md. Shamsur Rahman Sumon and Md. Arman Hossain, along with Sayed’s childhood friend Mahid Hasan and others, demanded immediate correction of the inscription.

The university administration later assured that steps would be taken to rectify the issue. However, even after one and a half months, no progress had been seen.

Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, Adviser to the Ministry of LGRD and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Interim Government of Bangladesh, came to Rangpur on a brief visit on August 20. That day, he paid tribute at the Shaheed Abu Sayed Memorial Monument built at the newly named Shaheed Abu Sayed Square (formerly Parker Mor) near the university. While speaking to the media, he recalled Sayed’s sacrifice, also.

However, he did not make any announcement regarding the correction of the factual errors in the memorial message. As a result, the stamp still remains covered with red cloth.

Angry students stated that although the facts surrounding Sayed’s martyrdom were as clear as daylight, the presence of such errors in the inscription was nothing but a heinous attempt to distort history. They also expressed resentment over the omission of Begum Rokeya University’s name.

Furthermore, the students criticized the authorities for not mentioning that Abu Sayed’s martyrdom was the result of a “police killing”. Many expressed disappointment that, even after one and a half months, the message had not yet been corrected.

Former Coordinator of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement of BRUR, Md. Shamsur Rahman Sumon, said: “After noticing the inconsistencies in the inscription, a few of us covered it with red cloth on July 18. We believed that such writing might lead to distort history. At that time, the ministry promised to make corrections immediately. But now, nearly a month had been passed.”

He added, it was still covered in red cloth. If that was the state of the memory stamp for Abu Sayed, the first martyr of the July Movement, then nothing more were needed to say about other matters. If anyone from the respective authorities were neglecting the issue, they should be held accountable and punished, claimed Sumon.

Another former Coordinator and student from the Mathematics Department of the university, Md. Arman Hossain alleged that before the stamp was hurriedly installed on July 16, no one consulted them about the details. As a result, Sayed’s birthdate was recorded incorrectly, and the description disregarded the spirit of July.

Expressing his disappointment, Arman added: “As soon as we realized this, we informed the administration, covered the stamp with red cloth, and notified the concerned authorities. They promised quick correction. But since nothing had been done even after this long, we were very disappointed. We demanded to take immediate action.”

Regarding the matter, BRUR Registrar Dr. Md. Harun-or-Rashid said the Shaheed Abu Sayed Street Memory Stamp was built mainly by the initiative of the Ministry of LGRD, with involvement from the Rangpur District Administration and LGED.

About the time, when the errors would be corrected, the registrar said, since the stamp was installed through coordinated efforts from the LGRD Ministry, LGED, District Administration, and Roads and Highways Department, only they could say when it would be corrected. The university authority had no involvement in this matter, he also mentioned.

Above all, attempts to contact Rangpur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Robiul Faisal over the phone to discuss the issue were unsuccessful as he did not respond.

During the Anti-discrimination Student Movement—also called the Anti-fascist July Movement—Abu Sayed, a student of the English Department of BRUR from 2019–20 academic session, was shot while standing with his arms spreaded open in front of police rifles at Gate No. 1 of the university on the Dhaka-Kurigram Highway on July 16, 2024. He embraced martyrdom on the way to the hospital.

Sayed was the youngest son of Mokbul Hossain and Monowara Begum of Babanpur village under Pirganj upazila of Rangpur, Bangladesh. He was the first to embrace martyrdom in the July Movement took place in Bangladesh on 2024. Later, the growing mass movement led to the fall of then fascist Awami League Government and Sayed became the hero of the nation.