Anwar Pasha (1928–1971) was a Bangladeshi novelist. He was killed in 1971.

Life

Anwar Pasha was born in the village Dabkai in

Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. During ...

(currently in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

). He passed the High Madrassah examination in 1946 then went on to do his BA and then his MA in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

from

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

in 1953. He started his career as teacher of Manikchak High Madrasah and later on taught at Bhabta Azizia High Madrasah in 1954 and Sadikhan Diar Bohumukhi

Higher Secondary School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in 1957. In 1958 he joined

Pabna Edward College Govt. Edward College, Pabna is one of the oldest colleges in Bangladesh. History It was established in July 1898 in Pabna. The college was first named as "Pabna Institution" and founded by Shree Gopal Chandra Lahiri, the famous educationist at t ...

and in 1966 he joined Department of Bengali,

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

Family

Pasha married Masina Begam in 1953. Masina was the daughter of Junab Hekmat Ali who was of Palitberia village of Nadia, West Bengal.Anwar and Masina had 2 children, Masarul Aftab, Robiul Aftab.

Literary career

Pasha's literary career started when he was a student at Calcutta University. At that time, he published "Hasnahena", an anthology of several literary essays. He later moved to writing short stories, novels, essays, and poems. With Muhammad Abdul Hai, he also edited and published four medieval Bengali epics.

Works

*Nadi Nihshesita Hale (1963) *Nirupay Harini (1970) *Rabindra Chhotagalpa Samiksa (Vol. I 1963, Vol. II 1973) *Sahityashilpi Abul Fazal (1968) *Samudra Sankhalata Ujjayini (1974).

Novels

*Neer Sondhani (Home Seeker, 1968) *Nishuti Rater Gantha (Epics of the Dead of the Night, 1968) *Rifle Roti Aorat (Rifles, Bread and Women, 1973, A legendary work )

Awards

Bangla Academy Literary Award The Bangla Academy Literary Award ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি সাহিত্য পুরস্কার; ''Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar''), is given by the Bangla Academy of Bangladesh in recognition of creative genius i ...

(Posthumously 1972) *

Independence Award The Independence Day Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Independence Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার), Swadhinata Padak, and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by t ...

- 2020

Death

In 1971 a few days before 16 December, he was picked up from his university flat by

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

and its collaborators (the

Al-Badr Al Badr is a village in Mecca Province, in western Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making ...

militia led by Matiur Rahman Nizami), and taken to Mirpur, where he along with other intellectuals was executed. His body was recovered later and buried in the compound of the Dhaka University Central mosque.Banglapedia
/ref> On 3 November 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal - a special Bangladeshi court set up by the government - sentenced

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin ( bn, চৌধুরী মঈনুদ্দীন; born 27 November 1948), is a war criminal convicted for the killing of Bengali intellectuals in collaboration with the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberati ...

and

Ashrafuz Zaman Khan Ashrafuz Zaman Khan ( bn, আশরাফুজ্জামান খান, ur, ; born February 28, 1948) is one of the convicted masterminds of 1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals. In 1971, he was a member of the Central Committee of the I ...

to death after the tribunal found them guilty in absentia of torture and murder of 18 intellectuals including Anwar Pasha during 1971 Liberation war of Bangladesh.

Gallery

References

External links

Bangladeshi Novels
Bengali-language writers Bengali novelists Bangladeshi male novelists 1928 births 1971 deaths People killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War People murdered in Bangladesh University of Calcutta alumni People from Murshidabad district 20th-century novelists 20th-century Bangladeshi male writers Recipients of Bangla Academy Award Recipients of the Independence Day Award Krishnath College alumni Novelists from West Bengal {{Bangladesh-writer-stub