Shamsuddin Ahmed


Shamsuddin Ahmed was a Bangladeshi medical doctor who was killed in the Bangladesh Liberation war and considered a martyr in Bangladesh.

Early life

Ahmed was born on 1 August 1920 in Ambarkhana, Sylhet, East Bengal, British Raj. He graduated from Sylhet Government High School in 1939 and in 1941 from Sylhet MC College. He finished his MBBS from Calcutta Medical College in 1946. He joined Dhaka Medical College in 1947 as the house surgeon.

Career

Ahmed joined Comilla Hospital in 1948 as the chief and in 1952 of Narayan Nagar School Hospital. In 1953 he started teaching in Sir Salimullah Medical College. From 1954 to 1955 he was the resident surgeon of Dhaka Medical College. He was the founding President of Pakistan Ambulance Corps. From 1955 to 1957 he was teaching the department of surgery in Chittagong Medical College. In 1962 he completed his Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in London. After Which he served as the Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery in Rajshahi Medical College from 1962 to 1964.
From 1964 to 1967 he was the Civil surgeon of Sylhet. After which, he again worked as an Associate Professor of Department of Surgery in Rajshahi Medical College from 1967 to 1969. In 1969 he joined as the head of the department of surgery in Sylhet Medical College. After the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971 and the start of Bangladesh Liberation war, he started treating people injured in the conflicts. He established a blood bank and provided medical supplies to Mukti Bahini. He testified to an Italian investigation team against the actions of Pakistan Army. Most of the staff of the hospital had left.

Death and legacy

Three Pakistan Army soldiers were killed in fight with members of Mukti Bahini on 9 April 1971 near Sylhet Medical College. Pakistan army surrounded the Hospital but the members of the Mukti Bahini were able to disperse. Major Riyaz led a team of Pakistani army soldiers into the medical college. They took out Ahmed and eight other hospital staffs from the hospital and executed them. They were buried inside the hospital compound. Doctor Shamsuddin Hall, a dorm of Sylhet Medical College, is named after him. On 14 December 1997, Bangladesh Post Office released commemorative stamps of him.