Ayesha Bedora Choudhury

Ayesha Bedora Choudhury (1935–1971) was a Bangladeshi doctor who was killed in the Bangladesh Liberation war and is considered a martyr in Bangladesh.[1]

Early life

Ayesha was born on 6 April 1935 in Kolkata, West Bengal, British Raj. Her parents were Imaduddin Choudhury and Kaniz Fatema Mahmud. She graduated from Victoria Institution of Kolkata in 1951. She studied MBBS in the Calcutta National Medical College and graduated in 1956. During her studies she received two gold medals for outstanding academic achievements. She was involved with left wing politics on campus.[2]

Career

Ayesha's first job was in Gauhati Government Hospital in Guwahati, Assam, India. She moved to Dhaka, East Pakistan, Pakistan, and joined Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. Afterwards she worked in the State Bank of Pakistan as a Medical officer. On 25 March 1971, Bangladesh Liberation war started. During the war she provided medical treatment to the Pro Independence Mukti Bahini and gave them shelter.[2]

Death

On 16 December 1971 Pakistan forces surrendered to an allied force of Indian Armed Forces and the Mukti Bahini through the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender.[3][4] That day she went to Bangabandhu Bhaban in 18 Dhanmondi, the personal residence of the President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the Bangabandhu Bhaban, the wife of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Begum Fazilatunnesa, and their two daughters, Sheikh Rehana and Sheikh Hasina. When her car came near the gate, the Pakistani soldiers who were stationed there and did not know Pakistan had surrendered fired at her car. She and her chauffeur were killed in the firing.[2]

References
  1. Samāddāra, Raṇabīra (2002). Paradoxes of the nationalist time: political essays on Bangladesh. University Press. p. 158. ISBN 9789840516346. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  2. Reaz, Bayzid Khurshid. "Choudhury, Ayesha Bedora". en.banglapedia.org. Banglapedia. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  3. Jillani, Shahzeb (13 December 2011). "Scars of Bangladesh independence war 40 years on". BBC News. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  4. "Remembering the 1971 India-Pakistan War and the liberation of Bangladesh". The News Minute. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
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