On the morning of Thursday, October 7, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh saw the launch of ULAB Press with its maiden publication, Commemorating Sheikh Mujib: The Greatest Bengali of the Millenium (2021). The book was unveiled today at an event held at ULAB's permanent campus, also aired live online. 

Edited by National Professor Rafiqul Islam and Professor Shamsad Mortuza, (Acting) Vice Chancellor and Dean of the School of Humanities, the bilingual volume contains 13 essays by ULAB professors and associates, in their respective language of preference. The authors have each expressed their interpretations of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and shared their views on his distinguished leadership and his unparalleled contribution to significant moments in history—the Kolkata riots of 1946, Bangabandhu's revolutionary speech of March 7, 1971, the student politics of the 1970s, and more. 

Anisul Huq, Honourable Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, attended as chief guest, with Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, Chief Coordinator of the National Implementation Committee for the celebration of Mujib Borsho, present as special guest. Kazi Nabil, MP, Member of ULAB Board of Trustees, was the guest of honour for the event.

"We hope that reading this book will enable the audience to experience the life, the philosophy, and the history of Sheikh Mujib over and over again", Professor Shamsad Mortuza said in his opening remarks, adding that the Mujib Borsho events of the past two years have led to the success of this initiative by ULAB. "We are the first licensed university press to emerge in Bangladesh after the Dhaka University Publications. Through ULAB Press we will publish both academic and creative publications", he said.  

Professor Rafiqul Islam welcomed the crowd in a recorded message due to his physical absence from the event, citing ill health. 

Special guest, Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, said in his speech: "The youth of this country should be taught Bangabandhu's philosophies of peace, advancement and freedom. Only then will we be able to pay our greatest tribute to him". This, he proposes, is achieved by educational institutions' participation in such enterprises, such as the authoring of this book.

Guests mourned the loss of editors and authors, Dr Shamsuzzaman Khan and Professor Abdul Motaleb, who had contributed to the book. Professors Abdul Mannan, Kazi Gulshan Nahar Madina, Salimullah Khan, and Kaiser Haq, among others, were invited to read excerpts from their writing.

Chief Guest Anisul Huq stressed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's role in unearthing some of the greatest successes of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. "We have become enriched through her story and resultantly, we get to witness the publications of such books as Commemorating Sheikh Mujib", he said. 

Professor Imran Rahman, Special Advisor to the ULAB Board and Dean of the School of Business, closed the ceremony with a vote of appreciation of the esteemed guests and the contributors to the publication of the book.

Commemorating Sheikh Mujib: The Greatest Bengali of the Millenium (ULAB Press, 2021) is available for sale on the ULAB website and at Nymphea Publications outlets. It will soon be available at local bookstores. 

For more book-related news and views, follow Daily Star Books on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Write to us at thedailystarbook@gmail.com.