Zainul Haque Sikder, a valiant freedom fighter and leading industrialist of the country, has been laid to eternal rest on the campus of ZH Sikder Women’s Medical College at Rayerbazar in capital Dhaka.
People in their thousands poured in to bid adieu to the liberation war hero, who was the Chairman of Sikder Group of Companies and National Bank Limited, on Sunday after the Asr prayers.
They included family members, relatives, friends, well-wishers, politicians, businessmen, other prominent personalities, and employees of different organisations he founded.
Before the burial, the body of Zainul Haque Sikder was flown on Sunday morning to his village home at Bhedarganj Upazila in Shariatpur district where the second Namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayers) was held with the participation of thousands of people of the area.
Deputy Minister for Water Resources AKM Enamul Hoque Shameem, local lawmaker Iqbal Hossain Apu, Shariatpur Municipality Mayor Advocate Parvez Rahman, Awami League’s central committee leader Syed Abdul Awal Shamim and Shariatpur district Deputy Commissioner Md Parvez Hasan, among others, were among the participants in the Janaza prayer.
Before the second Namaz-e-Janaza, Zainul Haque Sikder was given a guard of honour by the state for the second time for his role in the country’s Liberation War in 1971. A team of police led by a magistrate of Shariatpur district administration administered the guard of honour.
During the guard of honour, the coffin of Zainul Haque Sikder, who was a close associate of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was covered with the national flag of Bangladesh.
Later, the body was brought back to Dhaka in the afternoon for burial.
Zainul Haque Sikder passed away on February 10 at a hospital in Dubai at the age of 91. His body was flown to Bangladesh on February 12 by a chartered aircraft.
Meanwhile, family sources said the Qulkhawani and Dua Mahfil for Zainul Haque Sikder will be held on Tuesday (February 16) after Magrib prayers at 6:15pm on the premises of ZH Sikder Women’s Medical College at Rayerbazar.
Everyone, including relatives, friends and well-wishers, has been invited to join the prayers for the salvation of the departed soul.
The first Namaz-e-Janaza for Zainul Haque Sikder was held earlier on Saturday on the ZH Sikder Women’s Medical College at Rayerbazar with participation of thousands of people, including a number of ministers, lawmakers and prominent personalities.
Immediately before the post-Zuhr prayer Janaza, Zainul Haque Sikder was given a guard of honour by the state. A team of police led by a magistrate of the Dhaka district administration offered the guard of honour.
Those who attended the first Namaz-e-Janaza included Parliament Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh and Deputy Minister of Water Resources AKM Enamul Hoque Shameem.
The attendees paid their highest respect by placing floral wreaths at the coffin of Zainul Haque Sikder.
Before the Janaza, his wife Monowara Sikder, daughter Parveen Haque Sikder MP, sons Rick Haque Sikder and Ron Haque Sikder expressed their grief at the death of Zainul Haque Sikder. They sought blessings for the deceased.
They told the people joining the Janaza that Zainul Haque Sikder always worked for the country and the welfare of the people, and never thought anything for himself.
An entrepreneur of a rare genre, he was born on August 12 in 1930 in Assam in undivided India and migrated to present-day Bangladesh with his family during the partition in 1947.
He was one of those who contributed greatly to the development and progress of Bangladesh. He established a large number of business ventures in the fields of education, health, housing and tourism and employed about 20,000 people in the last seven decades.
Apart from establishing business entities, Zainul Haque Sikder helped create numerous entrepreneurs. He extended helping hand to many leading entrepreneurs of the country during their initial days of establishing businesses.
He is well-known as a philanthropist too. Besides founding schools, colleges and hospitals, he extended support to efforts for poverty reduction and welfare of the underprivileged and marginal people of society.
Zainul Haque Sikder had been with Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as one of his close and trustworthy associates since 1945.
President Md Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Cabinet members, political leaders, business leaders, and other dignitaries expressed condolence at his death.
