Muslim Sahitya-Samaj was an influential literary and cultural organization. It was based in Dhaka.

History

Muslim Sahitya-Samaj (Muslim Literary society) was founded on 19 January 1926 in a meeting at Muslim Hall Union office. The meeting was presided by

Muhammad Shahidullah Muhammad Shahidullah ( bn, মুহম্মদ শহীদুল্লাহ; 10 July 1885 – 13 July 1969) was a Bengali linguist, philologist, educationist, and writer. In 2004, he was ranked number 16 in BBC's poll of the Greatest Bengal ...

, professor at the Department of Bengali and Sanskrit in

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 ...

. Professor Abul Husain, Department of Economics and Commerce of Dhaka University, A F M Abdul Huq, a student of Dhaka University residing in Muslim Hall, and Abdul Qadir, a student of Dhaka Collegiate School were charged with running the organisation and were the first executive committee of the society. Professors

Kazi Abdul Wadud Kazi Abdul Wadud (26 April 1894 - 19 May 1970) was a Bengali people, Bengali essayist, prominent critic, dramatist and biographer. He was born into a lower-middle-class family, in larger Faridpur (present) Rajbari, Pangsha. His father's name was K ...

and Anwarul Qadir. The Muslim Sahitya-Samaj operated for a total of 11 years before becoming dormant. Professor

Charu Chandra Bandopaddhay Charu is a word derived from Sanskrit that refers to something beautiful, graceful and pure in a spiritual sense. The word also means “one who is radiant and graceful” And is often used in the Ramayana for praising Lord Rama. It refers to ...

presided over the first session of the organization. In 1938, there were attempts to revive the organization but they did not succeed an after 1939 all activities stopped. Despite having Muslim in the name, it was a secular organization that had none-Muslim Bengali speakers. They supported Freedom of intellect and encourage secular traditions. It aim was encourage the education of Muslims. The organization was by choice non-political. It was an organization of students and teachers.

Publication

Shikha was the official journal of the Muslim Sahitya-Samaj. The first issue of the journal was published in April 1927. The Editor of the magazine was Professor Abul Hussain of the economics department of Dhaka University. The official slogan of the magazine was "'Where knowledge is limited, intellect is inert, freedom is impossible".

References

Indic literature societies Bengali literary institutions Organisations based in Dhaka 1926 establishments in India Islam in Dhaka {{Bangladesh-org-stub