The youngest child of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of the nation and first president of Bangladesh. A boy whose eyes were full of infinite surprise, had natural simplicity and innate quality to attract others. He is brother of the honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Russel was named after Bangabandhu’s favorite writer, renowned philosopher and Noble laureate Bertrand Russell, by Bangabandhu himself and mother Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib.
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Birth
18 October 1964 (at historical Bangabandhu Bhaban, 32 no road, Dhanmondi, Dhaka.)
Death
Sheikh Russel was brutally killed on August 15, 1975 (at the age of 10) along with most of his family members, including his father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was a student of class four at University Laboratory School at that time.
Family
Father: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Mother: Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib
Siblings: Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal, Sheikh Rehana
Legacy
- To promote prevention of violence against children, the Cabinet Division of Bangladesh has approved October 18, “Sheikh Russel Day”, birthday of Sheikh Russel, as an A-category day for celebration across the country.
- Several athletic organizations in Bangladesh have been named in memory of Sheikh Russel, including the professional football club Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra, The Sheikh Russel School Table Tennis Tournament, the Sheikh Russel Memorial Sporting Club, and the Sheikh Russel Roller Skating Complex.
- In April 2014, a children's park named Sheikh Russel Shishutosh Angan was inaugurated in Kalabagan, Dhaka.
- On February 20, 2016, Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the Shaheed Sheikh Russel Bridge on the Shibbaria River.
- On October 2, 2016, the Bangladeshi Information and Communication Technology Division announced plans to build computer labs called Sheikh Russel Digital Labs (SRDLs) in schools and colleges across Bangladesh and so many others till now.
Sheikh Russel - The Symbol of Bengali Childhood
Being born and growing up in an environment of anti-authoritarian movement, Russel was a witness of the most critical times during the birth of an independent nation, the Six Point Programme, the mass upsurge of 1969, the Liberation War of 1971 and the efforts to rebuild the country after independence. He would have appeared as a famous humanitarian world leader, or perhaps a patriotic army officer, or a bright pioneer of modern Bangladesh – if his consciousness and such personality at his tender age got the chance to flourish.
The memory of Russel still burns bright in the minds of the people of Bangladesh. In happiness and sorrow – Russel has today become a reflection of the lively childhood of every Bengali.
He was stopped as a child but became the symbol of the eternal childhood of the Bengali. In the process of building an indomitable Bangladesh, every child shall be inspired by the life of Sheikh Russel.