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Published : 18 Aug 2025, 12:14 AM
Language Movement veteran Ahmad Rafique has been taken to hospital after his health deteriorated.
He was admitted to Labaid Hospital in Dhaka shortly before midnight on Sunday.
Dr Faruq Ahmed, director of Labaid Cardiac Hospital, said Rafique had been admitted to the Coronary Care Unit (CCU).
“His blood pressure and heart rate are slightly elevated. The body is very weak, and his level of consciousness appears somewhat reduced, which may be due to age or low electrolytes.
“He is undergoing medical tests and is under the care of Prof Dr Nur Mohammad and Prof Dr Sohrab Uz Zaman,” he added.
Earlier at 11:10pm, his driver Kalam said Rafique was being taken to hospital as his condition had worsened. Kalam also tends to him at his New Eskaton residence.
The 96-year-old has long been unwell with multiple complications. A spinal fracture has left him mostly immobile and confined indoors.
Rafique’s name is inseparably tied to the Language Movement, one of the greatest achievements of Bengalis, when he was a student at Dhaka Medical College.
On Feb 21, 1952, Bengalis shed blood to secure the right to their mother tongue, a struggle that eventually paved the way for independence through armed resistance in 1971.
Rafique was then a third-year medical student, maintaining links with students of Fazlul Huq Hall, Dhaka Hall and Mitford while taking part regularly in rallies and processions. In 1954, he was the only Dhaka Medical College student activist to face an arrest warrant, though he resurfaced publicly by late 1955 and resumed his studies.
Although he completed his MBBS degree, Rafique did not practise medicine. His first collection of essays, Shilpa Sanskriti Jibon (Art, Culture, Life), came out in 1958, setting him on a lifelong path of writing.
Born on Sept 12, 1929, in Brahmanbaria, the nonagenarian author has been honoured with the Ekushey Padak, Bangla Academy Award, among other accolades.
