Abul Kashem

Mohammad Abul Kashem is recognized as a pioneer and the architect of the historic Language Movement of Bangladesh. He served as a politician, author, and eminent educationist throughout his life.

Early life and education

Abul Kashem was born on 28 June 1920 in the village of Cheebandy-Barama, located under Chandanaish Upazila in the Chittagong district. He completed his Matriculation Examination at Boroma Trahi Menka High School in 1939. This achievement earned him a first class and a Government district scholarship. In 1941, he passed his Isc from Chittagong Government College with a first class.

He pursued higher studies at Dhaka University to specialize in science. He obtained a Bachelor of Science (honors) in Physics in 1944 and followed this with a Master of Science degree in 1945. During his graduate studies, he completed his master's thesis under the supervision of the physicist Satyendra Nath Bose.

Career

Abul Kashem began his professional journey as a lecturer in the Physics department at Dhaka University in 1946. He holds the distinction of being the first person to deliver lectures in the Bengali language at the university. He maintained this lecturing position until 1953. In 1948, he founded the weekly Sainik, which functioned as a mouthpiece for the Language Movement.

His political involvement was extensive and highly influential. He co-founded the Khilafat-e-Rabbani Party in 1952. As a United Front nominee, he served as a member of the provincial assembly from the Patia-Boalkhali constituency in Chittagong in 1954. While serving in the Legislative Assembly, he moved a resolution to introduce Bengali as the medium of education at all levels. On 30 September 1956, he proposed Bengali as the state language, which led to its unanimous approval and constitutional recognition.

The movement for linguistic rights saw significant action through his leadership. He founded the Pakistan Tamaddun Majlish on 1 September 1947 to mobilize students and intellectuals. On 15 September 1947, he published a booklet titled *Pakistaner Rashtra Bhasha: Bangla Na Urdu?* to demand Bengali as a state language. He also served as the treasurer for the first Rashtrabhasa Sangram Parishad, which formed on 1 October 1947. His efforts contributed to a countrywide strike on 11 March 1948. This pressure eventually forced the Provincial Government to sign an agreement on 15 March 1948 regarding the language demands.

As an educationist, he established Bangla College at Mirpur, Dhaka in 1962. He served as the Principal of this institution until 1981. He worked to introduce Bengali textbooks for higher education and helped initiate Bengali versions of examination papers.

Abul Kashem was a prolific writer who authored nearly 100 books. His bibliography includes 40 textbooks focused on physics and other science subjects for university levels. He also wrote extensively on Islam, culture, and politics.

Personal life

Abul Kashem passed away at the Suhrawardy Hospital in Dhaka on 11 March 1991. His contributions to the Language Movement remain a central part of the region's history.

Awards and recognition

He received several prestigious honors for his academic and social contributions. He earned the Pakistan Writers Guild award in 1964 and the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1982 for his book *Biggan Somaj O Dhormo*. In 1987, he was awarded the Ekushey Padak. He also received the Islamic Foundation Award in 1988.

A national reception was held in his honor in Dhaka in 1989. This event included many eminent scholars and litterateurs from Bangladesh and India. In 2007, the Dhaka City Corporation renamed a section of Darussalam Road in Mirpur-1 as Bhasha Sainik Principal Abul Kashem Road. The Independence Day Award was also granted to him in 1993.