Bangladeshis bid final farewell to Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury at Altab Ali Park in London

People have paid their last respects to Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, a journalist and columnist best known for writing the lyrics to ‘Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano’ – a tribute to the martyrs of the 1952 Language Movement - at the Shaheed Minar of Altab Ali Park in London.

Hundreds of expatriates from different parts of the UK and officials of the Bangladesh High Commission paid their homage to Gaffar Chowdhury with flowers.

His body was taken to the Brick Lane Mosque in London on Friday. People from all walks of life took part in the funeral prayers after Jummah. Anupam Chowdhury, his only son, sought blessings for his father.

The coffin of Gaffar Chowdhury, the editor-in-chief of the erstwhile weekly Joybangla, the mouthpiece of the Mujibnagar government of 1971, was then taken to the premises of the Shaheed Minar of Altab Ali Park for people to pay their last respects where Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem paid homage with flowers.

The remains of Gaffar Chowdhury will be brought to Bangladesh by a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight on Wednesday, UK Awami League General Secretary Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk told bdnews24.com.

Saida Muna said he will be buried next to his wife at Martyred Intellectual Graveyard in Dhaka’s Mirpur following his wish.

Gaffar Chowdhury witnessed many turning points in the history of Bangladesh. Though he had lived in London since 1974, he was always vocal in support of the Liberation War, Bangabandhu and liberal values.

Despite living abroad, he regularly wrote political commentary and discussed contemporary issues in Dhaka newspapers. He also wrote poems, stories, novels, plays, memoirs and essays.