A just cause

Shafia Khatun, Shamsunnahar, Rawshan Ara (Bachchu) and I went to Bangla Bazar School and Eden College to organise the strike.

I went to Amtala around 9:30am [on February 21, 1952]. I went upstairs and sat down for a while. It was decided that section 144 would be broken and said that police would not attack female students if they went out. Pandemonium reigned for a while. Then everyone started rushing out. We started marching. Qureshi was the DC of Dhaka, and Mamud was the SP. Mamud said to me, "Please go back."  He knew me. They came with a plan and that's why he warned me.

I don't remember the exact time of the firing. At that time, we were behind the police cordon. We took shelter in the compound of Mr Gani's house [provost, Salimullah Muslim Hall]. The students threw stones before the shots were fired.

We raised money from many people in the Old Paltan area. I gave it to Khurshedi [Dolly] Alam. Muhammad Qudrat-i-Khuda, Justice Ibrahim, Justice Imam Hossain Chowdhury, Justice Radhikaranjan Guha contributed to the fund. Everyone felt that it was a just cause and that's why they donated spontaneously.

Sufia Ahmed was one of the female forerunners to break the Section 144 on Dhaka University campus on February 21, 1952

This is an abridged version of Sufia Ahmed's interview published in Bhasha Andolon Prasanga: Katipay Dalil (Ed. Badruddin Umar, Bangla Academy, 1995.)

Translated by: Shamsuddoza Sajen, The Daily Star.