On this Teachers’ Day, Bangladesh remembers the man who embodied the truest meaning of the word teacher — a man who gave his life to protect his students.
Dr. Syed Muhammad Shamsuzzoha, the then Proctor of Rajshahi University, was brutally killed by Pakistani soldiers on February 18, 1969, while standing between armed troops and his protesting students. That moment of self-sacrifice turned him into the country’s first martyred intellectual — and forever a symbol of what it means to lead with courage and conscience.
This week, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement submitted a memorandum to the Education Adviser, calling for February 18 to be officially declared as National Teachers’ Day, in honor of Shaheed Shamsuzzoha. The same appeal was also handed to the Home Adviser during his recent visit to Rajshahi.
The memorandum recalls how the 1969 Mass Uprising became a turning point in Bangladesh’s liberation struggle, and how Dr. Shamsuzzoha’s sacrifice ignited a spirit of defiance that inspired countless revolutionaries in the years to come.
“By giving his life to save his students, he set an unparalleled example of teacherly devotion and moral leadership,” it reads.
The students also drew a connection between Dr. Shamsuzzoha’s heroism and the recent July Uprising, saying, “When bullets flew again in 2024, many teachers chose silence. In that silence, we felt the absence of Shaheed Zoha deeply.”
They reminded that Abu Sayeed, the first martyr of the 2024 movement, had once written, “I want to be like Zoha Sir.”
For generations of students and educators, Zoha Sir remains a moral compass — a reminder that teaching is not only about imparting knowledge but also about standing for justice when it matters most.
Rajshahi University has long observed February 18 as Teachers’ Day in his memory. The call to make it a national observance is more than a symbolic demand; it is a plea for the nation to acknowledge that true education begins with courage.
As the memorandum states, “Honoring Shaheed Zoha is not merely a tribute to one man, but to the very spirit of teaching that refuses to bow before injustice.”
