Kamal Lohani (26 June 1934 – 20 June 2020) was a Bangladeshi journalist. He was awarded

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...

in 2015 by the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...

. He served as the director general of

Shilpakala Academy Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy ( bn, শিল্পকলা একাডেমি; National Academy of Fine and Performing Arts) is the principal state-sponsored national cultural center of Bangladesh. History It is the national academy of f ...

from April 2009 until April 2011.

Career

Lohani got his first job as a journalist in the Daily Millat in 1955. He joined as a secretary at

Chhayanaut The Chhayanaut Sangeet Vidyatan ( bn, ছায়ানট) is an institution devoted to Bengali culture, founded in Bangladesh in 1961. As in the case of many similar organizations, it was established during Pakistani rule in Bangladesh to prom ...

, a cultural organization, in 1962. He formed a left cultural organization – ''Kranti'' in 1967.

Early life

Kamal Lohani was born on 26 June 1934 in the village of Santala in the then

Pabna District Pabna District ( bn, পাবনা জেলা) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is an economically important district in Bangladesh. Its administrative capital is the eponymous Pabna town. History Archeologist Cunningham conjectured ...

(now

Ullahpara Upazila Ullapara ( bn, উল্লাপাড়া) is an upazila in Sirajganj District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh. It is known as the gateway to North Bengal, since the Dhaka-Rangpur and Dhaka-Rajshahi highways intersect at Hatikumrul in Ullapara ...

Sirajganj District Sirajganj District ( bn, সিরাজগঞ্জ জেলা) is a district in the North Bengal region of Bangladesh, located in the Rajshahi Division. It is an economically important district of Bangladesh. Sirajganj district is the 25th ...

). His father's name was Abu Yusuf Mohammad Musa Khan Lohani and his mother's name was Rokeya Khan Lohani. His real name is Abu Naeem Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Khan Lohani. In 1952, he passed the secondary examination from

Pabna Zilla School Pabna Zilla School ( bn, পাবনা জিলা স্কুল) is the oldest high school in the Pabna District of Bangladesh. It provides education from class Three to Ten. It has two shifts - morning and day. The morning shift starts at 7: ...

. He completed his higher education from Govt. Edward College, Pabna.

Personal life

In 1960, Lohani married Syeda Dipti Rani (d. 2007). She was his fellow political party member. Together they had two daughters and a son.

Death

Lohani died on 20 June 2020 from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

related complications during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh The COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Bangladesh in March 2020. The first ...

References

1934 births 2020 deaths Bangladeshi journalists Bangladeshi communists Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Honorary Fellows of Bangla Academy Place of birth missing Pabna Edward College alumni Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh {{Bangladesh-journalist-stub