The Poem of the Month (February, 2010): IN MEMORIAM: THE SHAHEEDS [MARTYRS OF BANGLADESH]

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(Please click on the above image to read the Bengali poem in an enlarged form) 

I had written the above poem in Bangla (Bengali) and it was published by the Shurid Sangha (a Catholic youth organization) of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in its February 21, 1972 souvenir Shotabdir Shakkhor.

On the occasion of the Ekushey February and International Mother Language Day of 2010, I present below the English translation of the poem.

In Memoriam: The Shaheeds
[Martyrs of Bangladesh]

By Jerome D'Costa

Every male and female of Bangladesh today,
Under the flag of independence
Is marching forward
With the new message of hope,
This independence today
Is a success,
In lieu of so much blood and so many lives.

On a day in the year of nineteen fifty-two,
In the heavy storm
A few flowers dropped down
From their strong green stalks,
To establish their mother language
In its proper and dignified seat.

The Bangalis on that day
Proved to the world that they also know
How to shed their blood
For liberating the truth-like 'rogue'
From the clutches of the false 'ally.'

The ideal of these martyrs
Year after year, decade after decade,
Inspired the Bangalis anew
To search for the gold-like real truth,
That's why in the past nine hellish months,
Did they not tremble
At the aggressive thunder-strikes
Of the Khan [West Pakistani] soldiers.
To break their iron fetters
Millions of Bangladeshis,
Giving their invaluable lives,
Cheerfully bathed in the bloodied river.

We remember all the martyrs
Of the past twenty-five years,
On this day we remember
Those through whose sacrificed lives
We've gained our rights.
We shall never forget
Their sacrifice and self-immolation,
They will never die, never ever.