Home ›› 16 Dec 2021 ›› Sport
Abdul Halim Chowdhury Jewel, commonly known as Shaheed Jewel, is remembered every year through a special cricket match organised on the Victory Day.
A first-class cricketer as well as an opening batsman in his time, Jewel sacrificed his life in the war of independence and received the title of Bir Bikram -- the third highest gallantry award in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Cricket Board has named a stand in Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur after Jewel, but there is hardly any information about his cricketing achievement and heroism in the Liberation War.
The Business Post contacted Jewel’s elder sister Suraya Khan to know about how he got engaged in the Liberation War.
Suraya recalled how passionate her brother was to play cricket for independent Bangladesh.
“He was an opening batsman who played seven first-class matches before joining the war where he got his hand injured during an operation in Ashuganj. He was brought to a safe home for treatment,” she said.
When his hand was injured during the Ashuganj operation, he was very anxious about how he could play cricket after the liberation.
Suraya told The Business Post that Jewel kept asking the physician whether not he could play cricket after he got healed.
“All these we learned from his friends as we did not see him after September 2,” according to Suraya.
Jewel was a member of famous “Crack Platoon”, a group of urban guerrillas trained by Major Haider (Abu Taher Mohammad Haider) and took part in some successful operations against the occupying Pakistan army in Dhaka.
He took part in the Farmgate Operation where they killed 11 members of Pakistan Army.
“After that when he came to our house, he was very afraid about us since he thought local collaborators will swoop on our address. We were four sisters, and he insisted on our going to village home at Bikrampur,” Suraya added.
Jewel was nabbed by the Pakistan Army from one of his friend’s house in Moghbazar after getting injured.
The day he got arrested, he was at his friend Azad's (another freedom fighter) house at Boro Moghbazar. In the previous night, they ran an operation in Ashuganj. In that operation, he had his wounded.
“He was undergoing treatment at his friend Alam's house in Eskaton, and there he was feeling a strong urge to see our mother,” recalled Suraya.
From there he went to Azad's house where some other guerrilla fighters were also present.
It was getting dark, and Azad's mother asked Jewel not to go out that day; rather he should stay back in there only to go tomorrow.
So there they made arrangements to sojourn for all in the Boro Moghbazar dwelling after dinner, but it was a fateful night.
Being tipped off the Pakistan Army raided the house and caught all of them, narrated Surya who could not hold tears while describing the incident.
Jewel along with fellow guerillas Azad, Rumi and Badi were taken to Ramna Police Station where for the last time Jewel was seen alive.
Jewel came across a family friend in Ramna PSO and dispatched the news of his arrest and being in police custody to his house.
“On September 2, our father saw him in the lockup, and that was his last known appearance. After that we did not see him anymore, nor found his body,” said Jewel’s sister.
Like many other martyrs, Jewel is laid to rest somewhere in a mass grave with no markings which kept his family hopeful that someday he might return, but that day never came.
Ali Ahsan Mujahid, former Jamaat leader, received life imprisonment for confinement and torture of Jewel and his accomplices at old MP Hostel in Dhaka’s Nakhalpara area.
Later, the war criminal received capital punishment.
Jewel was a contemporary of Raqibul Hasan, Shafiq-ul Haque Heera and Shamim Kabir who later represented Bangladesh in ICC Trophy and other matches.
Maybe Jewel could earn a spot in the team with his impressive batting, but he decided to pick up the gauntlet in order to free the motherland first instead of cricket.
The young cricketer found his mentor Mushtaq dead after Operation Searchlight by Pakistan Army.
Jewel made the supreme sacrifice and his memories should not fade away.
