Tribute
Remembering Matia Chowdhury: A distinguished life
Matia Chowdhury was usually seen donning a cotton saree and avoided luxurious attire.
4th Death Anniversary of Latifur Rahman / Tribute by Mahfuz Anam: Remembering the flagbearer of independent journalism
As we commemorate Latifur Rahman, we miss his presence, warmth and personal touch in championing the cause of independent journalism.
Prof Azizur Rahman Khan: A visionary in financial studies
It is difficult to put into words the contribution that Prof Azizur Rahman Khan made to academia and the nation.
88th birth anniversary of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed / Memories of a revolutionary dreamer
Abed bhai defined a great and worthy leader as someone who always steps down to accommodate a worthier leader.
Remembering Sir John Wilson: An outstanding personality
Sir John Wilson directly contributed in changing the lives of millions of people with disabilities around the world.
Muzharul Islam: A ‘vastukalabid’ for modern Bengal
Described as the doyen of Bangladesh’s architecture, Muzharul Islam introduced modernism in the country as well as the highest ideals of the craft.
Tribute to AM Anisuzzaman / Forever a restless civil servant
He seemed to shine whenever handling a crisis.
Remembering Annisul Huq: The man behind the public persona
Six years ago, a perfectly healthy man in his 60s just left me and my children in a state of shock and emptiness.
Our beloved VC Sir
The last time I met Dr Hafiz GA Siddiqi was at a seminar or a conference. VC Sir, as many of us still refer to him, was surrounded by crowds of his former students,
A tribute to Mustafa Nur-Ul Islam
For most people who live to be 90, life is usually one long, painful journey troubled by debilitating illnesses or loss of mobility or memory, or both; they have to depend on others for the simplest of tasks like pouring a glass of water or turning in bed.
Kamaludddin Ahmed Khan: Keen, unconventional, relevant
Being married to Begum Sufia Kamal was certainly an important part of Mr Kamaluddin Ahmed Khan's life. He derived much joy and meaning, and perhaps some recognition, from this. But he never derived his identity from this relationship. In that, he was fiercely independent, and quite unique.
Remembering freedom fighter Lt. Col. Quazi Nooruzzaman, B.U. (declined)
Every year around this time, I get a phone call from someone or the other of the loose fraternity of Sector 7 veterans to remind me that May 6 is Lieutenant Colonel Quazi Nooruzzaman's death anniversary; he passed away in 2011.
A dream still too far
Fifty years ago, America's iconic civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr, was slain in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4. In the United States, King's following words are famous to the point of being clichéd, but they bear repeating nonetheless: “I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.”
In memory of Simeen Mahmud
It is both difficult and painful to write an obituary of a spouse, particularly if the death is an untimely one. Yet many friends and academic colleagues of Simeen, my wife who has recently died at a Harvard hospital within hours of being rushed to the emergency room, have requested me to do so since they think that she was both my “intellectual and life's partner”.
The Dream of Martin Luther King Jr
IN a historic 1999 civil lawsuit of the King family against the US government, 12 jurors in the Shelby County Court in Tennessee reached a unanimous verdict on December 8, 1999, after about an hour of deliberations, that Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. When asked whether the jury found “others including governmental agencies” to be “parties to this conspiracy,” the jury answered, “yes”.
Remembering Professor Jamal Nazrul Islam
March 16, 2018 marked the fifth death anniversary of Professor Jamal Nazrul Islam. I know everyone is still mourning Professor Stephen Hawking, but Professor JNI was also a larger-than-life figure. It is unfortunate that many people in Bangladesh don't know about him. In my mind, Hawking's greatest achievement was helping fund and create the Centre for Mathematical Sciences (CMS)—the largest
Remembering our sister Simeen Mahmud
On the chilling morning of March 26, 1971, Pakistani soldiers kicked open the back door of our Dhaka University bungalow, and violated our residence for the second time.
Stephen Hawking's unparalleled legacy
The world-famous physicist Stephen Hawking passed away on March 14, 2018. His death has left me saddened like millions around the world. But I was happy to see that The Daily Star had published a couple of articles on Stephen Hawking, one of which was written by a Bangladeshi academic. It inspired me to express my thoughts and feelings about how Hawking's work has influenced me.