Syed Ali Ahsan ( bn, সৈয়দ আলী আহসান; 26 March 1922 – 25 June 2002) was a Bangladeshi poet, writer and university academic. 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 ...
(1982) and
Independence Day 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 ...
(1987) 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 1987, he was selected as the
National Professor of Bangladesh. He was credited as the official English translator of the
National Anthem of Bangladesh.
Early life
Ahsan was born on 26 March 1922, to a
Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
family of
Syeds
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad' ...
in the village of
Alokdia in
Magura (formerly under
Jessore District
Jessore District (Bengali: যশোর, pronounced Jaw-shore, Anglicised: Jessore), officially spelled Jashore District from April 2018, is a district in the southwestern region of Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west, Khulna Distri ...
),
Bengal Province. His father, Syed Ali Hamed, was a school inspector. His mother, Syeda Kamrunnegar Khatun, was the daughter of
Syed Mukarram Ali, the
Zamindar
A zamindar (Hindustani language, Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian language, Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous Raja, ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughal Em ...
and
Pir of Agla in
Nawabganj, Dhaka. His brothers were the Cambridge-educated Islamic philosopher and critic, Prof.
Syed Ali Ashraf, and Syed Ali Naqi, also a professor. He grew up in an atmosphere steeped in Sufi traditions inherited from both his paternal and maternal ancestors.
While studying at the
Armanitola Government High School
Armanitola Government High School is a secondary school for boys in Armanitola, in the old part of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It celebrated its centenary in 2004.
History
This school was established in 1904 by the British government, as an experimenta ...
in 1937, Ahsan published a poem called ''The Rose'' in his school magazine. Subsequently, stories, essays and poems written by him in Bengali were published in magazines such as Azad, Mohammadi and Saogat. When he was a student of the department of English in Dhaka University his essay titled 'Kavi Satyendranath Dutta' was published in the quarterly Parichay, a magazine edited by Sudhindranath Dutta.
[ As a student and later as a scholar, he was a key figure in the East Pakistan Literary Society, an influential movement for a more Islamically conscious Bengali literature; his brother Syed Ali Ashraf and his cousin ]Syed Sajjad Hussain
Syed Sajjad Hussain (14 January 1920 – 12 January 1995) was a Pakistani-Bangladeshi academic and writer. He served as the 4th Vice-chancellor of the University of Rajshahi.
Early life and education
Hussain was born on 14 January 1920, to a Ben ...
were also involved. Unlike the latter two, Syed Ali Ahsan abandoned his erstwhile support of Pakistan, and became an advocate of Bangladeshi independence.
Career
Ahsan worked in All India Radio
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All ...
. He was a professor of department of 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 ...
in 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 ...
and later, head of the department of Bengali of University of Karachi
The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh ...
. In Karachi, he edited the Bengali Literary Review, an English-language journal loosely concerned with Bengali Muslim literature and culture; it published many writers associated with the East Pakistan Literary Society.
He was a director of Bangla Academy
The Bangla Academy ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি, ) is an autonomous institution funded by the Bangladesh government to foster the Bengali language, literature and culture, to develop and implement national language policy and to d ...
and was the vice chancellor of Jahangirnagar University, University of Rajshahi
The University of Rajshahi, also known as Rajshahi University or RU ( bn, রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়), is a public co-educational research university in Bangladesh situated near the northern Bangladeshi cit ...
and Darul Ihsan University. In addition, he was a National Professor (''Jatio Addhapok'') of Bangladesh. He was also an adviser of the Nobel prize committee for literature from 1976 to 1982.
He was an editor of the antique book "Bangladesh; a souvenir on the first anniversary of Victory Day, December 16, 1972.", as well.
Soon after the partition of India in 1947, Pakistan PEN was established in the year 1948. Ali Ahsan was its first secretary general while Muhammad Shahidullah was its president. When Bangladesh was born in 1971, PEN Bangladesh started its journey with Ali Ahsan as its president.
Award
* 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 ...
(1967)
* 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 ...
(1982)
* Independence Day 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 ...
(1987)
Death
Ahsan died on 25 July 2002. He was buried next to the Jahangirnagar University Mosque with national honour.[
]
Works
Books
* ''America Amar Kichu Kotha''
* ''Chorjageeti Proshongo''
* ''Kobita Shomogro''
* ''Kotha Bichitra: Bishyo Shahitto''
Poetry
* ''Onek Akas''
* ''Ekok Shandhay Bosonto''
* ''Sohosha Sochokit''
* ''Amar Protidiner Shobdo''
* ''Somudrei Jabo''
Criticism
* '' Nazrul Islam''
* ''Kobitar Kotha''
* ''Iqbaler Kobita''
Rabindra kabeyr bhumika
Translations
* "Oedipus
Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
"
* "Whitemaner Kobita"
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahsan, Syed Ali
1920 births
2002 deaths
Bengali-language writers
Bangladeshi male poets
Bengali male poets
Bengali-language poets
Jahangirnagar University faculty
Recipients of the Ekushey Padak
Recipients of the Independence Day Award
University of Rajshahi faculty
University of Dhaka faculty
University of Karachi faculty
20th-century Bangladeshi poets
Vice-Chancellors of Jahangirnagar University
Vice-Chancellors of the University of Rajshahi
Recipients of Bangla Academy Award
20th-century Bangladeshi male writers
People from Magura District
Bangladeshi people of Arab descent
20th-century Bengalis