Renowned archeologist AKM Zakaria dies

Eminent scholar, archeologist and former secretary to the ministry of Cultural Affairs Abul Kalam Muhammed Zakaria passed away today in Dhaka.

He was 97 years old.

He breathed his last at Samorita hospital where he underwent treatment due to old age complications since last November.

He left behind his wife, two sons and three daughters.

His namaj-e-janaja was held at Kalabagan playground after the Asar prayer this afternoon. He will be buried at his village Dariakandi of Bancharampur upazila in Brahmanbaria, his son Maruf Shamser Zakaria told The Daily Star.

AKM Zakaria has been ill for the past three years, but that did not stop him from working on writing multiple books.

He was the president of the editorial board of inscription which was part of the ‘Committee to publish books on architectural sites of Dhaka’, an initiative of a group of young researchers. He had been working on the documentation of the Mughal era archeological site and finding old inscriptions and translating them to Bangla.

He not only had significant contribution in archeology, but AKM Zakaria also known for his translation of literature in Bangla.

He collected many scripts written during the Middle Ages. He edited famous books such as Gupi Chandrer Sonnas and Gazi Kalu Champabati.

He was one of the few scholars in Bangladesh who was fluent in the Persian language well and translated many books from Persian to Bangla. He translated Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, written by Minhaj-i-Siraj from Persian to Bangla.

AKM Zakaria received the Ekushey Padak award in 2015 for his contribution in research. He is also the recipient of the Asiatic Society Man of the year gold medal and the prestigious Bangla Academy Award.