By Borun Kumar Dash 

DHAKA, June 3, 2025 (BSS) - Shafiq Uddin Ahmed Ahnaf, a 17-year-old 11th grader at BAF Shaheen College in the city, had a dream of doing something extraordinary for what his family would be proud of him.

"Once I grow up, I will do something that will make you proud of me," Ahnaf's mother, Jartaj Parveen, quoted him as he used to tell this to his family members. 

In fact, his dream came true, but in exchange for his life. His name will remain written in golden letters forever in the history of Bangladesh's anti-discrimination student movement for his supreme sacrifice.

On August 4, 2024, Ahnaf was fatally shot in front of the Fire Service office in the city's Mirpur-10 area around 5pm when he joined the anti-discrimination student movement with the one-point demand, the resignation of the autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina from the post of Prime Minister.

But the irony of fate was that the movement succeeded to overthrow the nearly 16-year-long fascist regime just a day after his martyrdom, but he could not witness the victory.

Ahnaf's mother, Jartaj Parveen, burst into tears while sharing her memories with her son at an interview with BSS at their home at Modhyo Paikpara in the city's in Mirpur-11.

Originally from Manikganj district, the family visits the ancestral home as no relatives live there. His father, Nasir Uddin Ahmed, 48, works as a salesman for a private company, and his mother, Jartaj Parveen, 38, is a housewife. His only younger brother, Iftikhar Uddin Ahmed, 13, studies in class seven.

Ahnaf was supposed to appear for his HSC exams this year, she tearfully said, recalling that Ahnaf was actively involved in the anti-discrimination student movement from the beginning of the campaign for quota reform in government jobs. 

His grief-stricken mother recounted that during the movement, one day, he returned home with rubber bullet injuries when his family members tried to convince him not to join the street protest. But despite repeated warnings from family members to stay away from protests, he remained steadfast on his commitment.

"When we tried to stop him from joining the movement, he used to say, 'If mothers were like you in 1971, the country would never have gained independence'," weeping Parveen recalled.

"He wanted to be brave like Shaheed Abu Sayeed and Mugdho," she said in a sobbing tone, adding, "Ahnaf used to say, 'If something happens to me like Abu Sayeed and Mugdho bhai, you can be proud of me.'"
Recalling the memory on the tragic day, Parveen said that day Ahnaf woke up and contacted his friends. 

"I told him, 'You won't be allowed to go outside today. Tomorrow, we will join the long march (March to Dhaka Programme) together'. But he didn't listen to me, rather he left home in the afternoon," she recalled with heavy grief.

Recounting her memories with Ahnaf since his birth, Parveen said, "In 17 years, he never ate with his own hand. I used to feed him, and if I wasn't home, his father did. Every time I sit down to eat now, I think of Ahnaf. Whenever someone knocks on the door, I still feel my son returns from college."

She said Ahnaf loved playing the guitar and football. "That day, he had plans to visit the house of one of his cousins and join a musical function. I had called to check on him. He told me he was on 60 Feet Road and was safe," Parveen recalled.

"But thirty minutes later, he said he was in Mirpur-10. When I told him that curfew would be imposed soon, he told me he was safe," she said with an emotion choked voice. 

"This is his guitar and this is his reading table," Ahnaf's grieving mother showed his belongings to this correspondent. 

Ahnaf had a black cat named Niggy. He had planned to become a businessman, not an employee and dreamed of forming his own music band.

Ahnaf's grief-stricken father, Nasir Uddin, was wiping away his tears while recalling his memories with his beloved son. 

"My son is no more among us, but his memories are everywhere," he said, pulling out Ahnaf's yellow shoes from under the bed. 

"He used to wear these (yellow shoes) when playing football. And that guitar - it was everything to him," Nasir said with heavy grief.

Ahnaf's younger brother Iftikhar still can't accept that his brother is no more. He held the guitar to his chest and wept silently.

Recalling that one protester covered Ahnaf's body with a large national flag and took to the hospital, Ahnaf's father said, "I want a just and beautiful country built upon the sacrifice of our children's blood."

Although Ahnaf was killed on August 4, he was laid to his eternal rest the following day at the Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard in Dhaka.

Seeking justice for her son's killing, Ahnaf's mother filed a formal complaint with the Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal On October 3, 2024. 

"Before I die, I want to see justice served for my son's murder," Nasir demanded.