At just 14, Salam infused spirit of Bangla in others

The factor that compelled the kid to join the Language Movement was the pressure for learning Urdu in his school. He opted for not playing by the school curriculum, and started attending political meetings and rallies seeking Bangla as a state language.

The boy, Abdus Salam, was a mere juvenile when he first got involved in the protest, as he reached the age of 14 years in the 1952 Language Movement. He played a crucial role in mobilising public support for Bangla in his neighbourhood Chattogram's Patiya area.    

He was accompanied by contemporary language heroes such as Mofizur Rahman Sada, Ahmed Hossain, Sorendru Pal and Bojendra Nath Shil. Abdus Salam also played an active role in the anti-Muslim League movement by the United Front in 1954.

According to one of his letters, the news of police firing on protesting students for Bangla reached Chattogram on 22 February 1952 – a day after the incident. Subsequently, students from all over Chattogram including Patiya boycotted classes, flaring up the protest further.

Abdus Salam was born on 1 June 1938 at Pairul of Patiya. Due to poverty, he dropped out of school in his childhood and took a job at a grocery store in Chattogram city. He got admitted to class five later as his mother insisted.   

He passed the Matriculation exam from Gairla KP High School in 1958 and the Intermediate exam from Sir Ashutosh Degree College, Boalkhali in 1962. He obtained the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from Alaol Degree College, Banshkhali in 1989.

After passing the Intermediate exam, Abdus Salam started teaching in his own school that would earn him the "Salam Master" alias. He was in several positions in the Students Union local chapter in the 1960s. During the Liberation War, local leftist leader Salam Master fought guerrilla fights in the Chattogram region.

In 1988, he became the president of Communist Party of Bangladesh local chapter. At that time, he visited the Soviet Union with a central CPB delegate. In 1996, Abdus Salam Master contested the national election as a CPB candidate.

After a 40-year teaching career, he retired in 2002. To his colleagues, Salam Master had been a prominent figure in realising teachers' demands as he was the general secretary of the teachers' association south Chattogram chapter for 12 years.

Rich in progressive thinking since his student days, Abdus Salam Master was not only a teacher but also an educator.

The language veteran passed away on 12 October 2020.

"My father was a born fighter. He took part in the Language Movement in his adolescence and in the Liberation War in his youth. After independence, his struggle was to build the nation," said Saifuddin Salam Mithu, son of Salam Master.

"During his 40 years of teaching, he had spoken for his students and colleagues. He had fought all his life for hardworking people as he never bowed down to injustice," Mithu added.

A TBS-Nagad initiative.