Mahfuz Ullah (10 March 1950 – 27 April 2019) was a Bangladeshi writer, journalist, television personality and environmentalist. He was notable for environmental journalism in Bangladesh. He was the founder Secretary General of the ''Center for Sustainable Development - (CFSD)''.

Early life

Ullah was born on 10 March 1950 at

Begumganj Upazila Begumganj ( bn, বেগমগঞ্জ, Begomgonj) is an upazila of the Noakhali District in Bangladesh's Chittagong Division. Begumganj Thana, now an upazila, was established in 1892. Geography Begumganj is located at . It has 118361 households ...

Noakhali District Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and offici ...

of the then

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

to Habibullah and Foyzunnisa Begum. He was the grandson of Muzaffar Ahmed, one of the socialist movement activists in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. He obtained his master's in physics in 1972 and again in journalism in 1974 from the

University of Dhaka 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 ...

. Because of his involvement in student politics,

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

's military backed government expelled him from

Dhaka College Dhaka College ( bn, ঢাকা কলেজ also known as DC) is the oldest secular educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhaka. It offers higher secondary education ( HSC). It has Honours and Masters programs as well which are aff ...

. Ullah was involved with East Pakistan Students Union and served as its president. He participated in 1969 Mass uprising.

Career

Ullah started his career in journalism when he was a student. He had been associated with

Weekly Bichitra Bichitra is a defunct weekly literary magazine. It was owned by the Government of Bangladesh and edited by Shahadat Chowdhury. The magazine has been described as a historic milestone and a pioneering magazine. History Fazal Shahabuddin is the fo ...

since its inception in 1972. He worked as a language expert of China matters and Press Officer at the ''Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh'' in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. He was a visiting teacher at the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of Dhaka University. Mahfuz Ullah had hosted radio and television shows and been involved with leading Bangla and English dailies in Bangladesh. He was also an adjunct professor at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication of Daffodil International University. Ullah was the founder secretary general of an environmental organization named ''Center for Sustainable Development''. He was elected as the first Bangladeshi member of the International Board of Directors of the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Books

Ullah wrote and edited more than 50 books. Some of his notable works include the biographies of former President

Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d' ...

and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the mass uprising of 1969 and the insurgency in Assam and post-independent Bangladesh.

Death

Ullah died on 27 April 2019 at the age of 69 at

Bumrungrad International Hospital Bumrungrad International Hospital ( th, โรงพยาบาลบำรุงราษฎร์, , ; ) is a private hospital founded in 1980 in Bangkok, Thailand. More frequently referred to as Bumrungrad Hospital or simply Bumrungrad, its n ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, Thailand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ullah, Mahfuz 1950 births 2019 deaths People from Begumganj Upazila University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Bangladeshi male writers Bangladeshi journalists Bangladeshi activists Bangladeshi environmentalists