Shahidullah Kaiser

Shahidullah Kaiser
Born Abu Nayeem Mohammad Shahidullah
(1927-02-16)16 February 1927
Mazupur, Feni, British India (present-day Bangladesh)
Disappeared December 14, 1971 (aged 44)
Dhaka
Status Presumed dead
Education BA (economics)
Alma mater Presidency College, Kolkata
Occupation writer, novelist, journalist, editor
Spouse(s) Panna Kaiser
Children Shomi Kaiser and Amitav Kaiser
Relatives Zahir Raihan (brother)
Awards Bangla Academy Award (1962)
Independence Day Award (1998)[1]

Shahidullah Kaiser (Bengali: শহীদুল্লা কায়সার; 16 February 1927 – 14 December 1971) was a Bangladeshi novelist and writer.

Early life and education

Kaiser was born in the Mazupur village (in present-day Feni District) as Abu Nayeem Mohammad Shahidullah. He studied at Presidency College, Kolkata and obtained a bachelor's degree in economics with honours. Later, he enrolled in master's of arts at Calcutta University but did not complete the degree.

Family

Kaiser's wife, Panna Kaiser, is an author and novelist. She served as a member of the parliament for the Awami League government from 1996 to 2001. Kaiser's daughter, Shomi Kaiser, is a TV actress. His son, Amitav Kaiser, is a banker.

Politics and journalism

Kaiser was active in politics and cultural movements from his student days. Following the formation of Pakistan in 1947, he joined the provincial Communist Party of East Pakistan. He started working as a journalist in 1949 with the Ittefaq in Dhaka. In 1952, he participated actively in the Language Movement. For his political role in the movement for protection of Bengali language, Kaiser was arrested on 3 June 1952.[2] He was later jailed for three and a half years. Right after his release in 1955, he was again arrested and jailed on a political crackdown on activists. A few years later he was released. In 1958, Kaiser joined as an associate editor of The Sangbad – a Bengali language daily – where he worked for the rest of his life. When the military coup of 1958 put Ayub Khan in power, and martial law was proclaimed, Kaiser was arrested again on 14 October 1958 and remained in jail for four years till his release in September 1962.

Disappearance

Kaiser collected medicine and food and delivered those to the posts such as one being Begum Sufia kamal's house, from where the freedom fighters picked those up for their training outpost.[3]

At the end the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators initiated a plan for killing the leading Bengali intellectuals. As a part of it, Kaiser was rounded up on 14 December 1971. He never returned, nor was his body ever found. It is assumed that he was executed along with other intellectuals. His brother, Zahir Raihan, a notable film-maker, also disappeared while searching for Kaiser.[4]

Early December 1971, Kaiser cautioned Sufia Kamal to leave Dhaka but he himself did not leave and got caught in the hand of Pakistani Army. He proved his patriotism to his motherland by sacrificing his life.[3]

On 3 November 2013, Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, a Muslim leader based in London, and Ashrafuz Zaman Khan, based in the US, were sentenced in absentia after the court found that they were involved in the abduction and murders of 18 people – nine Dhaka University teachers, six journalists including Shahidullah Kaiser and three physicians – in December 1971.[5]

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin denied the charges in an interview aired by AL Jazeera in August.[6]

Literary works

Awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Awards Detail" (in Bangla). Cabinet Division, The Government of Bangladesh. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  2. ↑ Shahidullah Kaiser (1927–1971), retrieved October 16, 2011
  3. 1 2 Hussain, Akbar (16 December 2004). "'I would rather die than sign any false statement'". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  4. ↑ Ferdous, Fahmim (19 February 2013). "Zahir Raihan: Capturing national struggles on celluloid". The Daily Star. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Chowdhury, Syed Tashfin (3 November 2013). "UK Muslim leader Chowdhury Mueen Uddin sentenced to death in Bangladesh". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  6. ↑ Hull, Jonah (3 November 2013). "Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin: 'Not a war criminal'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
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