We usually look upon some people whom we cherish in deeper than the surface of our hearts, whom we seek to emulate as they are the very salt of the earth. We admire the man of action, the doer of deeds. Such a man was Zainul Haque Sikder, who was a legend in his own lifetime. He was a patriot of the first water, an idealist, a man of action, dreamer of dreams and yet so intensely practical.
A study of his life or review of his career shows that the elements were so mixed in him that Nature might stand up, and say to all the world, this was a man.
Yes, this was a man but an extraordinary one, who was a broad-minded philanthropist. He is Zainul Haque Sikder, an icon of free man in the modern world. It is not every person born that is endowed by nature with mental and moral attributes of a high order. Very likely the proportion of such gifted mortals so blessed to the common run of mankind falls below one to a thousand.
They shed lustre and illumine vast areas by virtue of their glorious and beneficent deeds and, when their mission on earth is duly fulfilled, they leave behind them immortal names destined to shine like brilliant beacons to the posterity and depart this world when the time comes. To this highest order belongs such celebrity as Zainul Haque Sikder.
Zainul Haque Sikder was such a human being whose heart was profoundly saturated with sympathy, who was full of the milk of human kindness and who came into the world, not for promoting his personal welfare only and for self-aggrandizement, but for doing deeds of charity to his fellows and for alleviating their miseries and sufferings at any sacrifice.
Altruism was the law of Sikder's being; benevolence was imbedded in his nature; compassion at the distress of his fellow-beings was the spring of all his actions. He worked hard and owned colossal wealth and made the best use of it. It reminds us of the poet who rightly sings:
" when wealth to Virtuous hands is given,
It blesses like the dews of heaven;
Like Heaven it hears the orphan's cries,
And wipes the tears from Widow's eyes"
There are many people in the country richer than Z.H. Sikder, but very few of them have the frame of mind to spend money for the people, especially for the ailing humanity and the indigent. A noble soul like him is rarely
born to work for the neglected people of the country. Over 100 schools, colleges, madrasahs, Monowara Sikder Medical College and Hospital and Z. H. Sikder university of Science and Technology for the people of Shariatpur owe their inception and existence to this public-spirited man and stand as brilliant monuments of Z.H Sikder's large-hearted sympathy and his zeal for the diffusion of higher knowledge. He founded the country's first women's medical College and Cardiac Centre for providing the neglected women folk with better service. Z.H. Sikder's initiative rendered a small sleeping hamlet of Madhupur into a unique academic hub of the country. It is a great success for the person like Z.H. Sikder, the torchbearer, whose name will remain ever alive as a role model in the heart of people.
Most of the People get recognition of their achievements after death, but Zainul Haque sikder is one of the fortunate few who have become immortal during their lifetime through their contributions. Zainul Haque Sikder is one of those exceptional people who braved a lot of ups and downs in diversified roles as social activist, industrial magnate, entrepreneur, banker and development strategist. Bold, outspoken and Self-made Sikder is also a war veteran.
A veteran freedom fighter in the Liberation War of Bangladesh, ZH. Sikder was one of the most trusted associates of the Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
As a mark of respects, protest and remembrance after the brutal killing of the Bangabandhu and most of his family members by some disgruntled army personnel on August 15,1975, Z.H. Sikder continued to sleep on bare floor instead of a bed for long twelve years.
This is certainly an unparalleled, unprecedented love and devotion to the great leader.
His deeds have enshrined him in the memory of his countrymen and that shall make his sweet memory be cherished with ever-loving veneration by successive generations .
May his Soul enjoy uninterrupted peace in the world hereafter.
