Shushasoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) on Sunday organized a symposium in remembrance of eminent author and columnist Syed Abul Maksud.
With the presence of veteran journalists and civil society members, the virtual mourning event was held at around 11:30am.
Presiding over the program, former justice MA Matin, also a member of Shujan, said: “Syed Abul Maksud resigned from Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha [BSS] as he didn’t want to compromise with his ideologies.
“Very few people have the courage to do this.”
Justice Matin also said: “He always spoke the truth. Now it’s a challenge for us whether we can follow his footsteps or not.”
A noted human rights activist, Syed Abul Maksud wrote over 40 books in his lifetime. He wrote at least two books each on Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Syed Waliullah.
His notable works include “Juddho O Manusher Murkhota” (1988), “Gandhi, Nehru and Noakhali” (2008), “Dhakae Buddhadeb Basu” (2011), and “Rabindranather Dharmatatwa O Darshan” (2012).
Syed Naseef Maksud, son of Abul Maksud, said: “One of the principles my father believed in and followed was his opposition to imperialism.
“He was vocal against hegemony. He cherished Bengali culture in his heart. He has also worked, throughout his life, to make people aware of communalism.”
Echoing the same, Shujan Secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumder said: “He was an intellectual, but for the general people. Individuals like him generally lack the opportunity to interact with the common people but Maksud was different, an exception. He was a lively columnist. He used to talk about important things with a lot of humour.”
The 74-year-old fell ill and fainted at home, and was later taken to Square Hospital around 7:15pm on February 23, where doctors pronounced him dead. He was buried at Azimpur Graveyard the next day.
Beginning his career as a journalist at the weekly Nobojug in 1964, Syed Abul Maksud received the Bangla Academy Award in 1995 for his contributions to Bengali literature.
He joined the national news agency, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), in 1971 and left the editorial section of the agency in 2008.
Maksud was the founding editor of the daily Suprabhat Bangladesh, published from Chittagong.
His observations on various social, political, cultural, and economic issues at different times had appeared through his columns published in several newspapers.
Author Anisul Hoque, in a column published on January 7, 2016, stated that Syed Abul Maksud had started wearing two pieces of white cloth without stitches as a protest against the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, under the false assumption of Iraq storing weapons of mass destruction.
Till his death, he kept up his protest.