Veteran Freedom Fighter Builds Massive Private Library to Combat Ignorance in Nawabganj
Photo Collected
KASHIMPUR, Bangladesh — Five decades after taking up arms to fight for his nation’s independence, Mohammad Shahjahan has transformed his mission from defending a country to battling ignorance through literature. The veteran freedom fighter, widely known by locals as Shahjahan Chunnu, has dedicated his twilight years to curating a massive personal library of 10,000 to 12,000 volumes at his home in Kashimpur village, located in the Nawabganj Upazila of Dhaka.
Born in 1952 along the banks of the Ichamati River, Shahjahan’s intellectual journey began during his high school years. Despite a formal education path that took him through Nawabganj Government Pilot High School and later to Dhaka College and Jahangirnagar University, he eventually pivoted to a career in contracting. Throughout his life, however, he consistently invested his personal earnings into building an expansive collection covering history, politics, philosophy, literature, and social sciences, featuring both domestic and international authors.
His home now functions as an unofficial archive where shelves, cupboards, and even floor space are packed with books. Shahjahan remains an active reader, regularly adding new titles to his collection via online purchases. His interests span the works of renowned authors such as Sunil Gangopadhyay, Humayun Azad, Serajul Islam Choudhury, Buddhadeb Basu, and Maxim Gorky, alongside the classic contributions of Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam.
For Shahjahan, the library is not a static display but a living educational hub. He frequently engages neighbors and the younger generation in discussions about history and societal issues, often lending out his books to foster a culture of learning. Associates note that his greatest contribution is his refusal to hoard knowledge, preferring instead to disseminate ideas through dialogue and community interaction.
Local college teacher and writer Abdul Malek Shikdar observed that Shahjahan’s current devotion to reading is an extension of his lifelong service to the nation. While he once carried weapons to secure the country’s future, he now uses books as a tool to combat prejudice and intellectual stagnation.
As he looks toward the future, the veteran plans to leave his extensive collection to his two grandsons, Alif and Ahad, ensuring that the legacy of his 55-year pursuit of knowledge continues for the next generation. Friends and community members frequently visit his home to share in the intellectual discourse he facilitates, cementing his status as both a hero of the battlefield and a custodian of culture.
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