One of the most revered intellectuals in Bangladesh, Serajul Islam Choudhury, Professor Emeritus at University of Dhaka, celebrates his 89th birthday on Monday.
Born on 23 June, 1936, Professor Choudhury was born in Bikrampur, then a part of British India. After completing his early education in St. Gregory’s High School and College, and Notre Dame College, Dhaka, before enrolling at the University of Dhaka under the English Department.
After graduating, he completed a diploma in English Studies at the University of Leeds, UK, before moving on to earn his doctorate degree from the University of Leicester. He returned to DU – this time as lecturer—in 1957, following a brief period of teaching in Haraganga College in Munshiganj and Jagannath College.
Professor Choudhury has achieved a prominent role as a cultural and academic icon; during the Liberation War in 1971, he was one of six university teachers whose actions were deemed “anti-state” by the Pakistani military which resulted in him narrowly escaping the targeted massacre of the intellectuals carried out by Al-Badr, a pro-Pakistan militia group spreading terror.
Serajul Islam Choudhury’s intellect has made him an irreplaceably figure at Dhaka University—he has held positions from lecturer to professor from 1957 to 2001, before being awarded professor emeritus status. Additionally, he had been a professor at the University Grants Commission (UGC) from 2004 to 2008.
Apart from teaching, he has delved into several fields in his lifetime, contributing greatly as a prolific writer, editor of the quarterly magazine Natun Diganta since 2002, columnist writing under many pseudonyms, literary and cultural critic, and political analyst. A committed Marxist and activist his entire life, Professor Choudhury continues to lend his powerful voice, influential platform, and much-needed insights against injustice, to defend freedom of speech, and environmental and cultural exploitation, to name very few.
Maintaining a steadfast anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist stance throughout his life, he has shaped the views of many scholars, his peers, and his students (who remain in a state of perpetual awe while reminiscing about his lectures).
In 1973, Choudhury was one of the drafters of the Dhaka University Order of 1973. He founded the University Book Centre in 1978 and the Centre for Advanced Research in Humanities in 1986. In 1988, he compiled the convocation speeches of Dhaka University in two volumes, which were published by the university. He first initiated the University of Dhaka to offer the Ph.D. programme in English. His dedication to the university and beyond has left the educational landscape in Bangladesh forever changed.
He was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 1996, the second-highest civilian award in the country, among numerous honours.
Since the passing of his wife, Professor Najma Jesmin Choudhury who also taught in DU, in 1989, Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury has led his life in the company of his two daughters, and grandchildren.