The name of his son etched on the plaque. The moment his trembling hand touched it, Md. Tofazzal Hossain could no longer hold back. His eyes filled with tears, and the grief he had kept buried burst out. For a moment, it felt as though his eldest son, Sagor — lost forever in July — had returned to him, immortalized in stone.
On Thursday afternoon (August 14), this heart-wrenching scene unfolded on the Government Bangla College campus during the unveiling of the name plaque of the newly constructed Shaheed Sagor Student Hostel. The plaque was unveiled by the college principal, Professor Kamrul Hasan, alongside Sagor’s father, Md. Tofazzal Hossain.
The hostel was named after Sagor, a student of the Political Science department, who was killed during the July Mass Uprising.
Right after the inauguration, Tofazzal Hossain drifted deep into the sea of memories — perhaps recalling his son’s smile, his dreams, and those dark days of July when countless fathers lost their children forever. Maybe he was thinking of that final moment when his son told him for the last time, “Send me some money, father — the situation is not good.”
Standing amidst the crowd, he wept — a cry of loss, but also of undying love.
In an emotional voice, the martyred father said,
“Please keep my Sagor in your prayers. Sagor has left us forever. Today you have named a hostel after him — may Allah keep him in peace.”
At the ceremony, Principal Professor Kamrul Hasan said,
“Among those whose blood has drenched the fight for a fascism-free Bangladesh, one is our beloved student, Shaheed Sagor of Bangla College. Students had long demanded that a hostel be named after him, and we have fulfilled that through an official government notification. We pray for the eternal peace of Sagor and all others who were martyred in the anti-fascist movement.”
Teachers, students, and staff members of the institution were present at the event.
Background:
On July 19, 2024, during the July Mass Uprising, Sagor was shot dead by police at Mirpur-10 intersection in Dhaka. He was a second-year honors student in Political Science at Government Bangla College.
For a long time, students had been demanding that the new college hostel be named after Sagor. Following proper procedures and government approval, the college authorities finalized the name Shaheed Sagor Student Hostel.