Syed Manzoorul Islam, emeritus professor of the English Department at Dhaka University, as well as an educationist, novelist and essayist, is in critical condition and has been placed on life support.
He is receiving treatment at LabAid Hospital in Dhaka after suffering a massive heart attack, reports Prothom Alo.
A senior doctor at the hospital said on Sunday evening that Professor Islam was placed on life support after his condition deteriorated on Saturday. He underwent a procedure to insert two stents to clear blockages and is currently under 72-hour observation.
Mazharul Islam, chief executive of publishing house Anyaprokash, confirmed the news to UNB, saying, “Sir was in his car on Friday around 12–12:30 pm when he began to feel unwell and was immediately taken to the hospital. After initial tests, doctors informed us that he had suffered a massive heart attack.”
Born on January 18, 1951, in Sylhet, Manzoorul is the son of Syed Amirul Islam and Rabeya Khatun. He completed his Secondary School Certificate from Sylhet Government Pilot High School in 1966 and his Higher Secondary Certificate from MC College, Sylhet, before earning a BA and MA in English from Dhaka University. He obtained his PhD in 1981 from Queen’s University in Canada, focusing on the influence of Emanuel Swedenborg’s philosophy on WB Yeats’s poetry.
A retired professor of the Department of English at Dhaka University, he later joined the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB). Among his notable works are Thaka Na Thakar Golpo, Kach Vanga Rater Golpo, Andhakar o Alo Dekhar Golpo, Adhkhana Manushyo, Dinratriguli, Ajgubi Rat, Tin Porber Jibon, and Nandantattwa.
Manzoorul was honored with the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1996 and the Ekushey Padak in 2018 for his significant contributions to literature.