Last tributes for Prof Abul Quasem Fazlul Huq at Bangla Academy

Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury describes Prof Huq as "an intellectual of extraordinary talent."

The coffin of Bangla Academy president, essayist, researcher, literary critic and social thinker Prof Abul Quasem Fazlul Huq has been brought to Bangla Academy, the institution he headed, for a final farewell.

Colleagues, former students, writers, literary figures, representatives of cultural organisations and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs paid their last tributes to him at the Bangla Academy premises.

Colleagues crowded his coffin at the academy on Monday morning as they recalled his life and contributions.

Wreaths were placed on the coffin by Bangla Academy, the Jatiya Kabita Parishad and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Individuals including Mansur Musa, novelist Anwara Syed Haque, researcher Simon Zakaria, poet Sarkar Amin and many others also paid their respects.

'He Was a Progressive and Patriotic Intellectual'

Speaking after the tribute ceremony, Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury described Prof Abul Quasem as "an intellectual of extraordinary talent."

"He remained secular, progressive, deeply socially conscious and committed to the spirit of independence throughout his life. His contribution to the country's intellectual discourse will always be remembered," he said.

Recalling his days as one of the professor's students at the University of Dhaka, the minister said: "I was his student during the early years of his teaching career. Later, when I first became a minister, I continued to visit him. Whenever I returned to Dhaka after official work outside the city, I would go to see him. Sitting with him felt like resting under the shade of a peaceful banyan tree. He always spoke about the country, its people and the struggles of the oppressed."

Recalling the killing of the professor’s only son, publisher Faisal Arefin Dipon, owner of Jagriti Prokashony - who was murdered by religious extremists in 2015 - he said: "When his only son was brutally killed by an extremist communal group, he did not choose the path of revenge, nor did he seek justice in the conventional sense. Instead, he said he had dedicated his son to the country and its people. Such composure and moral greatness are rare not only in Bangladesh, but anywhere in the world."

The minister also announced plans to preserve the late professor's legacy.

"His countless students are now spread across the country and abroad. We all have a responsibility to ensure that Professor Abul Quasem Fazlul Huq's memory remains alive. On behalf of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, and as one of his students, I will do whatever is necessary to preserve his ideology and legacy," he said.

Plans for Memorial Book and National Remembrance Programme

Bangla Academy Director General Prof Mohammad Azam called Prof Huq "one of our most important essayists, thinkers and literary critics."

"Alongside serving as president of Bangla Academy, he visited the institution regularly. Even when there was no official engagement, he would come here to write, speak and meet people from home and abroad. He often offered me valuable guidance and principled advice on the administration of the academy," he said.

Speaking about future plans, Azam said: "Now that he is no longer with us, our foremost responsibility is to read and critically engage with his writings and to follow the principled life he led. Bangla Academy will soon organise a national memorial programme in his honour. We also plan to publish a comprehensive memorial volume on his life and work, featuring detailed analysis of his contributions and tributes from those who knew him."

"He devoted his life to writing on literary theory, the state and society. The best tribute we can pay him is to promote the democratic and liberal values he championed throughout his life," he added.

Following the tribute ceremony and the first funeral prayer at the Bangla Academy premises, Prof Abul Huq’s body was taken to the Central Shaheed Minar for people from all walks of life to pay their homage.

After the Shaheed Minar programme, the body is scheduled to be taken to the Aparajeyo Bangla monument.

A second funeral prayer is scheduled to be held at the Dhaka University Central Mosque later in the afternoon, after which he will be laid to rest at the Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard in Mirpur.