Professor Abdul Gafur, a Language Movement hero and a veteran journalist, died at a hospital in the capital on Friday (September 27). He was 95.He breathed his last at about 2:45 pm at Asgar Ali Hospital in Shamibagh area in the city while he while undergoing treatment at the private hospital. He had been admitted to the hospital with heart problems on Thursday.
His Namaz-e-Janaza was held on the premises of the Jatiya Press Clubat 8:00 pm. Later, he was buried at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard in Mirpur.
The Language Movement veteran left behind three sons, three daughters, and a host of relatives and admirers to mourn his death.
As a member of Tamaddin Majlish, Abdul Gafur joined the Language Movement to demand that Bangla be recognised as a state language of then West Pakistan on February 21 in 1952. During the movement, he was the editor of the ‘Sainik’ newspaper.
After completing his postgraduate degree from the Dhaka University in 1962, he worked in the public service for a time. He then taught at Abuddhar Ghifari College in Dhaka and Government Rajendra College in Faridpur for 17 years
Abdul Gafur has also served as the director of publications at the Islamic Foundation and superintendent of Darul Ulam.
He also worked as a journalist at numerous media outlets such as Dainik Millat, Dainik Azad, Dainik Desh, Daily Inqilab, the English daily People, and the Dainik Nazat.
Several organisations, including Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ, Dhaka Reporters Union, Dhaka-based Rajbari District Journalists Association, have expressed their condolences following his death.
In a message of condolence, Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Dr Shafiqur Rahman prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed profound sympathy to the bereaved family.
He said the contribution of Abdul Gafur to language movement is undeniable. Professor Abdul Gafur's name will be written in golden letters in the first row of the vanguards of the language movement, said Dr Shafiqur Rahman.
Despite being a brilliant student, he completely devoted himself to the language movement by skipping the exam just two months before the honors final exam of DU and established 'Bengali Language' in front of international arena, he added.
