Language hero Gaziul Haque passes away

Gaziul Haque, a top language-movement hero, passed away yesterday at the age of 80 after prolonged illness.
Also a valiant freedom fighter, Gaziul Haque had been suffering from various ailments like diabetes, heart disease and old-age complications.
He was admitted to Square Hospital in the capital on Tuesday morning and died there yesterday afternoon, sending a shock wave across the country, especially through politico-intellectual circles.
His first namaj-e-zanaja will be held at the national Baitul Mukarram Mosque at 10am today.
After the funerals, the body will lie in state on the premises of the Central Shahid Minar from 10:30am to 11:30am for people to show respects to the great national hero.
Later, his body will be sent to his hometown Bogra buried at his family graveyard after the final janaza.
President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed their profound sorrow at the demise of member of Awami League’s advisory council and founding Trustee of Bangabandhu Memorial Trust and its Treasurer, Gaziul Haque.
The Prime Minister went to the Square Hospital to see the deceased as his death news had spread fast. She stood in silence for some time.
In a condolence message, Hasina said the demise of “the great patriotic educationist and intellectual is an irreparable loss to the nation”.
The President, in another condolence message, said: “Gaziul Haque not only took part in the 1952 Language Movement and the 1971 Liberation War but also had struggled whole life for establishing democratic rights of the people.”
Both the President and the PM expressed their deep sympathies for the bereaved family members and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.
Born on February 13 in 1929 at Nishchintapur village under Chhagalnaia upazila in the then Noakhali district, Haque had played a leading role in the 1952 Language Movement. He chaired the meeting on the Dhaka University premises on February 21, 1952 from which the decision to violate Section 144 was made.
Later that day, police fired into the students who demanded equal status of Bengali along with Urdu, and eventually they prevailed.
He passed matriculation from Bogra Zilla School in 1946. On March 11, 1948, he took part in the rally demanding the status of Bangla which was directed by Dr Muhammad Shahidullah.
At the end of July in 1951, he joined a meeting along with other student leaders of that time to influence the dimming Language Movement.
On 30 January, 1952, when Khwaja Nazimuddin reiterated about their language policy, Gaziul Haque captained a meeting on the Dhaka University campus and also ran a rally of the agitated students.
As police fired, he got injured and forced to go to hospital. The following day he had to hide after the threat by the government. On April 14, 1953, he was fired from the University for doing student politics and his MA degree was suspended by the authority.
Later his degree was restored and suspension was lifted due to student procession. Gaziul Haque was arrested again on February 19 of the following year and released on April 18.
He fought the liberation war bravely on Bogra frontline.
In his professional career, Haque was a lawyer.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday expressed profound shock at the death of language movement hero Gaziul Haque.
In a condolence message, the leader of the opposition said the nation will ever remember the outstanding role of Gaziul Haque in building the nation’s history.
“No one can wipe out his contributions from the language movement to the liberation war and all progressive movements, and establishing people’s rights. His sincere struggle for protecting the mother tongue will inspire the people of the country for long,” she said.
Khaleda prayed for the eternal peace of Gaziul Haque and conveyed her sympathy to the bereaved family members.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami has expressed his deep shock at the death of language hero Gaziul Haque.
In a condolence message yesterday, Nizami said the country has lost a great leader of the language movement and a freedom fighter at the death of Gaziul Haque.
The nation would ever remember him for his contribution in different democratic movements including the Language Movement, said the Jamaat leader.
Nizami prayed for salvation of the departed soul and conveyed sympathy to the members of the bereaved family.

Courtesy of The New Nation