Language Movement activist, poet, essayist and distinguished Rabindra researcher, Ahmed Rafiq has passed away. He was 94.
He breathed his last at 10:12pm on Thursday while undergoing treatment at the ICU of Birdem General Hospital in Dhaka.
His longtime driver, Md Russel, confirmed the news to the media. Doctors at Birdem said Rafiq suffered a cardiac arrest just minutes before he was officially declared dead.
Earlier, he had been placed on life support at the ICU on Wednesday afternoon.
Born in Brahmanbaria in 1929, Rafiq had devoted his long life to writing, research and cultural pursuits.
Recipient of the Ekushey Padak and the Bangla Academy Literary Award, the Rabindranath scholar authored and edited more than a hundred books.
His contributions to Rabindra studies across both Bengals were widely recognised, and the Tagore Research Institute in Kolkata conferred on him the title of Rabindra-Tatthocharjo.
After the death of his wife in 2006, he lived alone, childless, in a rented apartment in New Eskaton.
