USA Bureau

A permanent Shaheed Minar was officially inaugurated at Texas Avenue Park in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Wednesday  marking a significant cultural milestone for the local Bangladeshi expatriate community.

The monument was constructed with the support of Atlantic City Councilman George Animals Crouch, the city's Multicultural Department, and Ducktown Neighborhood Community Development Corporation (CDC), a local non-profit organization that contributed approximately $10,000 toward construction costs.

Although Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Jr. was scheduled to ribbon-cut the monument at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, Fourth Ward Councilman George Animals Crouch and community member Biswanath Chowdhury jointly inaugurated the structure alongside attending Bangladeshi residents following the mayor's absence due to personal reasons.

The inauguration was followed by a brief discussion session led by Councilman Crouch. However, altercations arose during the program after event organizers and Milton Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-origin official at the city's Multicultural Department, invited representatives from only two local organizations to address the gathering while excluding leaders from other Bangladeshi community groups.

Members of the Bengal Club, led by nearly 50 activists, staged a protest at the venue against the exclusion. As tensions mounted, law enforcement personnel deployed to the park intervened to stabilize the situation, allowing the event to conclude. During the dispute, verbal arguments broke out among rival organization leaders in the presence of attending city officials.

The ceremony was attended by Atlantic City Police Chief James Sarkos, Deputy Chief Michael Zellinger, Councilman Kaleem Shabazz, Councilwoman Maria Laqa, Councilman-at-Large Sohayl Ahmad, former Councilman Anjum Zia, and Bangladesh Press Club of Atlantic City President Akbar Hussain.

Other attendees included Atlantic City School Board members Subrata Chowdhury and Farhad Siddiqui, Bangladesh Association of South Jersey President Mohammad Zahirul Islam Babul and General Secretary Zakirul Islam Khoka, Bengal Club Acting President Arif Mahmud Limon and General Secretary Kajol Barui, Bangladesh American Lions Club President Md. Rahman Babul, Bangladesh Association of Atlantic County President Md. Shahid Khan, Chittagong University Masters Alumni Association President Jahangir Hossain Bhuiyan, Asian American Society President and Press Club General Secretary Mohammad Shahin, and Ducktown CDC Board of Trustees President Michael Cagno.

In his remarks, Ducktown CDC Board of Trustees President Michael Cagno paid tribute to the language martyrs of 1952, expressing pride in facilitating the monument's construction for the local Bangladeshi diaspora.

The inauguration program included the rendition of the national anthem, a minute of silence in honor of the language martyrs, and the placement of floral wreaths at the altar of the newly erected Shaheed Minar.