Abul Kalam Shamsuddin

Abul Kalam Shamsuddin
Abul Kalam Shamsuddin
আবুল কালাম শামসুদ্দীন
Born	3 November 1897; Trishal Upazila, Mymensingh, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died	4 March 1978 (aged 80)
Alma mater	Dhaka College; Surendranath College ; University of Calcutta

Abul Kalam Shamsuddin (3 November 1897 – 4 March 1978) was a journalist, writer and politician. He was born in Trishal in the Mymensingh district of Bengal.

Early life

Shamsuddin graduated from Dhaka College in 1919. He then went to the Ripon College (now the Surendranath College) in Kolkata for his higher studies. In 1921 he took the Upadhi examination from Gudiya Suvama Vidyayatan. He participated in Khilafat and the Non-Cooperation Movement as a student.

Journalism

In 1922, Shamsuddin joined the daily Mohammadi as assistant editor. He also edited the weekly Moslem Jagat, The Musalman, the Daily Soltan, the weekly Mohammadi and Mashik Mohammadi. He joined the daily newspaper called The Azad in 1936. He worked as the editor of the The Azad from 1940 to 1962. He also was the editor of Daily Pakistan.^[1]

Political career

Shamsuddin first took an interest in politics after the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre in Punjab. He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress. In 1927 he joined the Muslim League. He took part in the Pakistan Movement after becoming the president of the East Pakistan Renaissance Society. He was the chairman of the Reception Committee of the Renaissance Society Summit at Kolkata in 1944.^[2] In 1946 he was elected to the Central Legislative Council. Shamsuddin became a member of Language Committee of East Pakistan Government in 1949.

Involvement in Language Movement

Shamsuddin played an important role during the Language Movement. At that time he was the editor of the leading daily The Azad which reported about the movement. On 22 February 1952 he resigned from the East Bengal Legislative Assembly to protest the police firing on a crowd the previous day. Azad also published a special evening edition on that day.^[3] The editorial that he wrote criticised the police for created massive excitement among the youth.^[4]

Publications

Shamsuddin wrote a number of books. He along with some other Islamist writers formed a domestic literature society named Raonok. Shamsuddin was the secretary of this 21 member society of Islamist writers.^[5] Of his books, his autobiography Atit Jiboner Smriti is considered as his masterpiece. His other works are:

Podojomi Ba Anabadi Jami (1938)
Trisrota (1939)
Kharataranga (1953)
Drishtikon (1961)
Natun Chin Natun Desh (1965)
Digvijayi Taimur (1965),
Iliad (1967),
Palashi Theke Pakistan (1968),
Atit Diner Smriti (1968)

Awards

Shamsuddin received a number of awards in Pakistan and Bangladesh. In Pakistan he was awarded the Sitara-i-Khidmat in 1961 and Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1967.^{[citation needed]} In 1969 during the revolution of people he protested against the government and refused his awards for the cause.^{[citation needed]} He received the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1970.^{[citation needed]} After the independence of Bangladesh, he was honoured with the Bangladesh's highest honour, Ekushey Padak.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Shahidul Islam (January 2003). "Shamsuddin, Abul Kalam". In Sirajul Islam (ed.). Abul Kalam Shamsuddin. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
^ Al Helal, Bashir (2003). Bhasa Andolaner Itihas [History of the Language Movement] (in Bengali). Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani. p. 114. ISBN 984-401-523-5.
^ Al Helal, Bashir (2003). Bhasa Andolaner Itihas [History of the Language Movement] (in Bengali). Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani. pp. 455–56. ISBN 984-401-523-5.
^ Shamsuddin, Abul Kalam. Atit Diner Smriti. pp 331
^ Rahman, Saeed-ur. Purbo-Banglar Shangskritik Andolon. pp.37-38

External links

Islam, Shahidul (2012). "Shamsuddin, Abul Kalam". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.

[Banglapedia-1] Shahidul Islam (January 2003). "Shamsuddin, Abul Kalam". In Sirajul Islam (ed.). Abul Kalam Shamsuddin. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. Retrieved 19 January 2016.

[2] Al Helal, Bashir (2003). Bhasa Andolaner Itihas [History of the Language Movement] (in Bengali). Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani. p. 114. ISBN 984-401-523-5.

[3] Al Helal, Bashir (2003). Bhasa Andolaner Itihas [History of the Language Movement] (in Bengali). Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani. pp. 455–56. ISBN 984-401-523-5.

[4] Shamsuddin, Abul Kalam. Atit Diner Smriti. pp 331

[5] Rahman, Saeed-ur. Purbo-Banglar Shangskritik Andolon. pp.37-38

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v t e Bengali language movement
History and events	Tamaddun Majlish Shorbodolio Kendrio Rashtrobhasha Kormi Porishod Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad Role of political parties during Bengali Language Movement The Azad Urdu movement Pakistaner Rashtra Bhasha: Bangla Na Urdu? Romanisation of Bengali
People	Abul Barkat Abdul Jabbar Shafiur Rahman Abdus Salam Rafiq Uddin Ahmed Dhirendranath Datta Khawaja Nazimuddin Muhammad Ali Jinnah Hamidur Rahman Abul Kashem Shamsul Huq Nurul Huq Bhuiyan Shahed Ali Liaquat Ali Khan Mohammad Toaha Abdul Matin Abdul Malek Ukil A. K. Fazlul Huq Maulana Bhashani Oli Ahad Abul Hashim Shawkat Ali Abul Kalam Shamsuddin Kazi Golam Mahbub Gaziul Haque Muhammad Habibur Rahman Mahbub Ul Alam Choudhury Mohammad Akram Khan Zahir Raihan Mohammad Sultan Abdul Latif Abdul Gafur Altaf Mahmud Muhammad Shahidullah Nurul Amin Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Munier Choudhury
Commemoration	Ekushey Book Fair Shaheed Minar Ekushey Padak Language Movement Day International Mother Language Day Moder Gorob Artistic depictions of the Bengali Language Movement Ekusher Gaan