Tofazzal Hossain (5 October 1935 – 5 December 2015) was a Bangladeshi language activist, civil servant, journalist, poet, lyricist and writer. He was conferred with

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 2013 for his contribution to the Language Movement.

Biography

Hossain was born on 9 October 1935 at Rameshwar in Daudkandi of

Comilla Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla wa ...

. He received graduate and postgraduate studies from

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 it ...

. Besides his professional career he also wrote books. Hossain started his career in journalism at ''

The Daily Ittefaq ''The Daily Ittefaq'' ( bn, দৈনিক ইত্তেফাক, translit. ''Doinik Ittefak'') is a Bengali-language daily newspaper. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest newspaper, and one of the most circulated newspapers in Bangladesh. Th ...

'' as a sub editor. Later, he joined the government service in 1967. He was an additional chief information officer of the

Information Department An information school (sometimes abbreviated I-school or iSchool) is a university-level institution committed to understanding the role of information in nature and human endeavors. Synonyms include school of information, department of informati ...

. Hossain took part in the Language Movement as a poet and lyricist. He also took part in protest rallies, poster and wall writing. Two songs were included on an anthology ''Ekushey February'' which was edited by

Hasan Hafizur Rahman Hasan Hafizur Rahman (;1932–1983) became the editor of the ''Daily Bangla'' right after the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. He also worked for the government as a high official and edited an account of the independence struggle called ''The Lib ...

. A song of these was written by Hossain. The title of the song was "Rokto Sorone Tomra Ajike Tomake Soron Kori". He received

in 2013 for his contribution to the Language Movement. He was a fellow 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 ...

. Hossain died on 5 December 2015 at the age of 80.

Selected bibliography

Poetry

* ''Hridoy Roktorage'' * ''Ekush Vubonmoy'' * ''Notun Juger Vore'' * ''Kobita Somogro''

Research book

* ''Jonosongkhya Bisforon O Agami Prithibi'' * ''Shishu : Bishwa O Bangladesh Prekshapoth'' * ''Biponno Prithibi Biponno Jonopod'' * ''Kashmir : Itihas Kotha Koy'' * ''Safolyer Sondhane'' * ''Jatisongho Ebong Lyndon Johnson''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hossain, Tofazzal 1935 births 2015 deaths People from Comilla District Bengali language movement activists Recipients of the Ekushey Padak University of Dhaka alumni Bangladeshi male writers Bangladeshi male poets Bangladeshi civil servants Bangladeshi journalists Bangladeshi lyricists Honorary Fellows of Bangla Academy