Dr Muhammad Shahidullah's 50th death anniv today

Staff Correspondent: Today is the 50th death anniversary of Bengali writer, linguist, philosopher and educationist Dr Muhammad Shahidullah.

He was born in Peyara village, 24 Pargana, West Bengal on July 10 in 1885. He was fluent in different languages including Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi and many more.

Dr. Shahidullah passed the Entrance examination in 1904 and FA in 1906 taking Sanskrit as a second language. He was admitted to Hooghly College in degree class with honors in Sanskrit. But he fell ill and gave up studies for two years. At last he passed the Honours Examination from Calcutta City College in 1910. He was admitted to the Sanskrit department in the Calcutta University for the MA course.

He played a vital role in 1952's Language Movement. Previously known as Lyton Hall and then Dhaka Hall, one of three founding halls of Dhaka University, was renamed after him and called Dr Muhammad Shahidullah Hall to pay tribute to his immense contribution. Bangladesh Government honoured him with the Independence Award in 1980 posthumously.

He died on July 13 in 1969. He was buried on the campus of Shahidullah Hall of Dhaka University.

risingbd/Dhaka/July 13, 2019/Hakim Mahi/Nasim