Abdul Gafur (born 19 February 1929) is a Bangladeshi journalist, teacher, writer and language activist of the
Bengali Language Movement that took place in the erstwhile
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
(currently Bangladesh) to make
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 ...
one of the state languages of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
He was one of the noted members of
Tamaddun Majlish
The Tamaddun Majlish ( bn, তমদ্দুন মজলিশ), formerly Pakistan Tamaddun Majlish, is an Islamic cultural organization in Bangladesh, established in 1947 by Principal Abul Kashem in the former East Pakistan. It was one of the ...
, an Islamic cultural organization which played a vital role at the start of the movement.
In recognition of his contributions to the language movement, he was awarded
Ekushey Padak 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 ...
in 2005.
Early life
Gafur was born on 19 February 1929 in
Pangsha thana of
Greater Faridpur District (now
Rajbari District
Rajbari ( bn, রাজবাড়ী) is a district in central Bangladesh, located in the Dhaka Division. It is a part of the Greater Faridpur subregion of Bengal due to the historical, linguistic and cultural identities of its inhabitants.
His ...
of Bangladesh) during the time of
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
to Haji Habil Uddin Munshi and Shukurunnesa Khatun.
He completed his secondary education in 1945 from the local Maizuddin High Madrasa and higher secondary from
Kabi Nazrul Government College in 1947. Later he was admitted to the Bengali language and literature department of
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 ...
. Including him, there were only three students in his department. The other two were Nurul Islam Patwari and Momtaz Begum.
When the Language Movement started, he took part in the movement as an enthusiastic activist and this slowed down his educational life. Later, he obtained his post-graduate degree from the Social Welfare Department of the same university in 1962.
References
1929 births
Living people
Bengali language movement activists
Recipients of the Ekushey Padak
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