Muhammad Habibur Rahman (3 December 1928 – 11 January 2014) was a Chief Justice of

Bangladesh Supreme Court Supreme Court of Bangladesh () is the highest court of law in the country. It is composed of the High Court Division and the Appellate Division, and was established by Part VI, Chapter I (Article 94) of the Constitution of Bangladesh, adopte ...

in 1995. He was the Chief Adviser of the 1996

caretaker government A caretaker government, also known as a caretaker regime, is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it co ...

which oversaw the Seventh parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. He was a faculty member at the Department of Law, University of Rajshahi and

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

. Besides, being a language activist, advocate of the Bengali language, he wrote extensively and published eight books on the subject. He played a significant role to implement Bengali in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He wrote ''Jathashabdo'' (1974), the first thesaurus in the Bengali language. Habibur Rahman was awarded

Bangla Academy Literary Award The Bangla Academy Literary Award (; ''Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar'') is given by the Bangla Academy of Bangladesh in recognition of creative genius in advancement and overall contribution in the field of Bengali language and literature. ...

in 1984 and

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak () is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of martyrs of the Bengali language movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including culture, education, and e ...

in 2007 by the

Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

. He served as a Fellow of Bangla Academy,

Asiatic Society of Bangladesh The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh is a non political and non profit research organisation registered under both Society Act of 1864 and NGO Affairs Bureau, Government of Bangladesh. The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh was established as the Asiati ...

and

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was ad ...

Education

Habibur Rahman was educated in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He attended the

and was an activist in the

Bengali Language Movement The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government ...

Career

Habibur Rahman began his career as a lecturer in history of Dhaka University in 1952. Later he joined the Department of Law, University of Rajshahi where he subsequently held the office of Dean of the Faculty of Law (1961) and of Reader in History (1962–64). He changed his profession in 1964 when he took to law and joined the Dhaka High Court Bar. In his legal career, he held the offices of Assistant Advocate General (1969), Vice President of High Court Bar Association (1972) and member of Bangladesh Bar Council (1972).

Literature

Habibur Rahman was an author of seventy books in Bengali on law, language, literature, poetry and religion and five books in English, including two books of verse. Law of Requisition (1966), Rabindra Prabandhey Sanjna O Parthakya Bichar (1968), Jatha-sabda (1974), Matri-bhashar Sapakshey Rabindranath (1983), Qur'an-sutra (1984), Bachan O Prabachan (1985), Gangariddhi thekey Bangladesh (1985), Rabindra Rachanar Rabindra-byaksha (1986), Rabindra-kabyey Art, Sangeet O Sahitya (1986), Koran-shorif Sorol Banganubad, On Rights and Remedies, Amara ki Jabo-na Tader Kachhey Jara Shudhu Banglai Katha Baley (1996).

Legacy

Habibur Rahman made notable contributions to the Language Movement, 21 February 1952 of the then

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

. He was the first person to break the Section 144 lead the first batch of a procession and was arrested soon after that. On that day, the police and parliamentary forces resorted to widespread tear gas shelling, clubbing and finally shooting. Consequently, several students were killed, hundreds were injured and thousands were arrested.

Death

On 11 January 2014, at the age of 85, Habibur Rahman died at United Hospital, Gulshan,

References

External links

* 1928 births 2014 deaths Supreme Court of Bangladesh justices University of Dhaka alumni University of Rajshahi alumni Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Recipients of Bangla Academy Award Chief justices of Bangladesh Rajshahi College alumni Chief advisors of Bangladesh {{Asia-law-bio-stub