Today is the 36th death anniversary of Abul Mansur Ahmad, a renowned litterateur, journalist and politician of the sub-continent.
To mark the occasion, literary magazine Kaler Dhoni has hosted a discussion in Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy today, says a press release.
Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman will preside over the event, where Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury, Dr Rafiqul Islam, Ahmad Rafique, Asad Chowdhury, Syed Abdul Maksud, Dr Mizanur Rahman, Golam Kuddus and Mahfuz Anam were supposed to take part.
Later, a drama, “Gulliverer Safarnama,” based on a story of Abul Mansur Ahmad, will be staged by Vision Theatre.
On the other hand, a 581-page special issue, published in the 2015 Amar Ekushey book fair by the magazine featuring the litterateur, will be unveiled in a programme in Jatiya Chitrashala Auditorium.
Abul Mansur Ahmad was one of the greatest satirists in Bengali literature. Besides, he was a renowned politician, lawyer and a very powerful journalist. He worked for Krishak, Nabajug and was editor of the daily Ittehad published from Kolkata in 1946 in the undivided Bengal.
He was a pioneer in modern and progressive journalism, who also was the provincial education minister in the United Front Cabinet under Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq and the central commerce and industries minister of the Awami League government of Prime Minister Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy in 1957. He was known for his strong stand for regional autonomy of East Pakistan.
He always propagated secularism in a manner unparalleled. His publications include great satires like Aina, Asmani Purdah, Gulliverer Safar Nama and Food Conference; autobiographies named Atma Katha and Amar Dekha Rajnitir Panchash Bachar.