Obituary
Dr. Akbar Ali Khan: A farewell to the Professor of integrity
Like several others Dr. Akbar Ali Khan was to me a citizen of the 1971 liberation war. My first conversation with him was in 1978 when he was in government service and I was working for the 1971 History project. He was posted in the Ministry of Defence of the Mujibnagar government and it was about what the role of the government was. He had no illusions about it.
“We did our best as a national government without much power in an international power where the rest were all powerful.” Few could have summed up this aspect of the Muibnagar government so well as this. In some ways, he summed up the reality of the 1971 war in total.
I had always wondered how a professional intellectual of his caliber could survive and flourish as a civil servant. He topped the merit list in the Dhaka University History department and also entered the coveted CSP cluster. Yet he seemed much more at home in academia. He served his full quota of days and only then retired to return full time to the academia as a Professor at BRAC University.
Books, lectures and observations
Soon after independence, he taught at the Jahangiranagar University, did his ph.d , published his splendid thesis for which he was awarded the Asiatic Society medal and other notable work. It’s a major achievement of his that he never let his salaried jobs and other travails of his work life interfere with his own intellectual life. He just went beyond the ordinary demands of bureaucracy and held on more firmly to what mattered most to him- his intellectual life.
It was nothing if not wide ranging. His most celebrated work is his book on the history of villages and its depth of analysis is stunning. Few can dare to travel in that area of work without reading the book. His economic analysis books are very well known, well thought of and often quoted. But his most quirky book is the one which was devoted to -of all things- chase the identity of the ethereal lady of Jibananada Das’s poem, Banlata Sen , a figure that haunts many Bengali minds. It was almost a declaration of his shushil identity. His exploration was methodical and thorough no matter whether one agrees with his conclusions or not.
Safely far from politics
Mujibnagar amlas tend to be political party oriented like the two of my senior friends. H. T. Imam and Dr. Kamal Siddique, both belonging to opposite political poles. Unlike them, he had no party identity and was more concerned with governance than partisan politics. His remark that civil servants owe it to be driven by conscience not ideology was perhaps already too old fashioned in the amla world he left behind to join academia after his stint at the highest level of bureaucracy.
He had once told me in a conversation that what a civil servant misses most is his right to disagree. Few disagreed with him but I understand that he was wise enough to know its limitations. He was thoroughly unimpressed by his success as an amla.
My last conversation seemed like his own summation of governance in Bangladesh. “ The government’s first role is to punish the wicked and protect the vulnerable. “ No other tests are necessary, he added. He had made his own integrity a brand. One speaks with respect and reverence whenever his name comes up. That is the true mark of a life brilliantly governed. Farewell Professor Khan.
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PM mourns Sharsha AL leader Nuruzzaman's death
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday expressed shock and deep grief at the death of Jashore Sharsha Upazila Awami League (AL) General Secretary Md Nuruzzaman.
Nuruzzaman, 62, breathed his last today at his Dhaka residence at 5am after a prolonged illness.
The AL lost a dedicated leader with the death of Nuruzzaman, Sheikh Hasina said.
She prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and extended her heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved family.
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BNP chairperson’s Advisory Council Member Haider Ali dies
BNP Chairperson's Advisory Council Member and former secretary Barrister Haider Ali has passed away. He was 71.
He breathed his last at 10:05pm on Sunday while undergoing treatment at Ibn Sina Hospital in the capital, said Haider’s son barrister Jisan Haider.
"My father was suffering from liver complications for a long time,” he said.
He is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter and a host of relatives and well-wishers.
Jisan said Haider will be buried at his family graveyard at Narayankhola under Nakla upazila in Sherpur after his namaz-e-Janata at Bhotkandi Eidgah ground there.
Haider Ali served as secretary in different ministries including Information, Textiles and Jute and Women and Children Affairs during his career.
Haider Ali became active in BNP politics after retiring from government service in 2008.
Read: Opposition leader Raushon condoles Rabbi's demise
Opposition leader Raushon condoles Rabbi's demise
Opposition Leader Raushon Ershad on Saturday expressed deep shock at the demise of Jatiya Sangsad deputy speaker Md Fazle Rabbi Miah.
Advocate Fazle Rabbi, a valiant Freedom Fighter and Member of Parliament, died during treatment at Mt Sinai Hospital in New York. He was 76.
In her condolence message, she said, “Rabbi, an advocate by profession, was active in politics and he worked for the country... People of the country will remember his contribution in the Liberation War and parliamentary democracy forever.”
“His death is an irreparable loss in the political arena which will not be healed soon,” she added.
Raushon also prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family.
Read: Bangladesh Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi passes away
Ex-secretary ATM Shamsul Haque passes away
Former secretary and former member of Awami League Advisory Council ATM Shamsul Haque died of old age complications at a hospital in the capital on Wednesday. He was 88.
Shamsul Haque , also former chairman of a Public Administration Reform Commission, breathed his last at around 9:30 am at Birdem General Hospital, said Dr Ataur Rahman Jashim, general secretary of Bangladesh Medical Association.
He is survived by three daughters.
The first namaz-e-janaza of the Awami League leader was held at Dhanmondi after Zohr prayers while the second and third namaz-e-janazas will be held at Cumilla Eidgah Maidan and at his Shimpur village home after Maghrib prayers respectively.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of ATM Shamsul Haque.
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In a condolence message, Hasina said Shamsul Haque was involved in the politics of establishing Bangladesh since his student life.
In his career, she said, he served as the secretary of several ministries of the Bangladesh government.
Moreover, he served as the Director General of Center for Integrated Rural Development in Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) for a long time.
During the 1996-2001 term of the Awami League government, he served as the chairman of the Public Administration Reform Commission of the Bangladesh government for three years at the rank of a minister.
The prime minister prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family.
Valiant freedom fighter Abu Musa Chowdhury receives state funeral
Liberation War hero and former Deputy Commander of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad’s Chattogram city unit late Abu Musa Chowdhury was buried with state honours at his ancestral home in Fatikchhari of the district on Friday.
The funeral took place after the Asr prayer today. A trained police team from Bhujpur police station led by Fatikchhari Upazila Executive Magistrate performed a guard of honor to Musa following an order by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Mominur Rahman.
Bhujpur police handed over a crest to the deceased’s son on behalf of Chattogram Superintendant of Police (SP) SM Rashidul Haque.
The upazila administration and local freedom fighters paid their respects to Musa during this time. After this, Musa was buried following a state funeral attended by noted individuals of the area.
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Abu Musa Chowdhury died in the early hours of Friday following a heart attack at home. He left behind his wife, two children and countless well-wishers.
Abu Musa Chowdhury took part in various navy operations during the 1971 liberation war, which made him a navy commando.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed her condolences over the death of such a patriot as Abu Musa Chowdhury.
Swechchhasebak League president Nirmal Ranjan dies in Singapore
Nirmal Ranjan Guha, the president of Bangladesh Awami Swechchhasebak League, passed away at a hospital in Singapore on Wednesday morning. He was 58.
Nirmal had been suffering from hypertension, and he was admitted to Bangladesh Specialized Hospital on June 12 after he fell sick.
He was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on June 16, where he died this morning, said Swechchhasebak League general secretary Afzalur Rahman Babu.
Nirmal is survived by his wife and two sons.
Bangladesh Awami Swechchhasebak League is the volunteer wing of the ruling Awami League.
Cricketer Mosharraf succumbs to brain cancer
Former cricketer Mosharraf Hossain Rubel lost his battle against brain cancer on Tuesday, breathing his last around 5pm, sources close to his family confirmed. He was aged 40.
He was taken to a hospital in the capital when his condition deteriorated, but the doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
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Rubel was first diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2019. In March 2019, he had an operation in Singapore, and went through a full cycle of chemotherapy as well.
But in January 2021, the cancer returned.
His condition worsened last month when he was admitted to a Dhaka hospital. His doctors put him in an intensive care unit. His condition was slightly better after a few days of treatment. But there was no beating the cancer.
Mosharraf got the first of his 5 caps for Bangladesh, all in ODIs, back in 2008.
His last international appearance was in 2016, when he was called up abruptly for a series against Afghanistan. Before this series, he was out of the national set-up for more than eight years.
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An allrounder who bowled left-arm spin and batted left-handed, Mosharraf was the player of the final in the Bangladesh Premier League 2013. He had numerous match-winning performances in the domestic level in a career spanning more than 15 years.
Mosharraf bagged more than 500 wickets in competitive cricket, with 20 five-fors. He also had two First-class centuries and 16 half-centuries under his belt.
EX-MP Khurram Khan dies of Covid-19
Khurram Khan Chowdhury, a former four-time MP and Mymensingh north unit BNP convener, died of coronavirus at a city hospital on Saturday. He was 75.
Khurram, also a freedom fighter, breathed his last around 5:45pm at United Hospital, said BNP organising secretary Syed Emran Saleh Prince.
Read: Ex-MP Gazi MM Amzad Hossain Milon passes away
He said the former MP was admitted to the hospital on July 8 with Covid infection. He was put on life support at the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of the hospital the following day as his condition worsened.
Khurram left behind his wife, one son, one daughter and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death.
His first namaz-e-janaza will be held on the premises of Gulshan Azad Mosque at 9am on Monday and then his body will be taken to Moazzempur village in Mymensingh's Nandail upazila where his second and final janaza will be held after Asr prayers.
Later, he will be buried at his family graveyard at the same village.
Khurram was elected MP for the first time in the second parliamentary election in 1979 as a BNP candidate from Nandail constituency. He was also elected MP from the same seat in 1988 as an independent candidate.
Later, he joined Jatiya Party and became MP with its ticket in 1991 from Ishwarganj seat.
Read: Ex-MP MA Jabbar dies
Khurram rejoined BNP and got elected MP as the party’s candidate in 2001 polls from Nandail constituency.
BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed deep shock at his death.
In separate condolence messages, they prayed for the salvation of the departed soul and conveyed their sympathy to the bereaved family members.
Ex-state minister Mufti Waqqas dies
Mufti Muhammad Waqqas, a former state minister for religious affairs, died of coronavirus early Wednesday at a city hospital. He was 74.
Waqqas, also president of a faction of Jamiat-e Ulama-e Islam and a three-time MP, breathed his last around 4:30am at Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute and Hospital, said his party’s publicity affairs secretary Oliullah Arman.
He was admitted to the hospital a few days back with coronavirus infection, said Arman.
Wakkkas will be buried at his village home in Jashore’s Manirampur upazila after Namaz-e-janaza at Jamia Emdadia Madaninagar Madrasa after Magrib prayers.
He was elected MP from Manirampur (Jashore-5) seat as an independent candidate in the 1986. Later, he joined Jatiya Party during the rule of HM Ershad and got elected MP for the second time in 1988. He was then made state minister for religious affairs.
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Waqqas joined Jamiat-e Ulama-e Islam after the fall of Ershad and was elected MP for the third time as a candidate of Islami Oikya Jote in 2001 from the same seat.
A member of the central advisory council of Hefajat-e Isla, Waqqas also served as senior vice president of Bangladesh Quawmi Madrasah Education Board.