Language Movement veteran Dr MA Gafur has passed away at a Dhaka hospital, at the age of 85.
He died at Samarita Hospital on Friday, said his eldest son Dr Shakil Gafur.
Education Minister Dipu Moni, and Nurul Amin Ruhul, MP, extended condolences to the bereaved family of Gafur.
Gafur is survived by two sons and a daughter.
He was laid to rest at Gor-e-Gariba graveyard after namaz-e-janaza at Chandpur Municipal Eidgah Maidan.
Gafur, born in Char Koralia of Haimchar upazila in Chandpur, took part in the 1952 Language Movement while he was studying at Dhaka Medical College.
He was an active language activist and accompanied language veterans MA Wadud, Oli Ahad, Principal Abul Kashem, Nurul Haque Bhuiyan, and Abdul Matin.
During the Liberation War, the Pakistani occupation forces burnt down his house in Char Koralia.
Gafur donated land worth Tk4 crore for setting up Chandpur Diabetic Samity and was its founding general secretary. He was also a former general secretary of Chandpur Eye Hospital.
His wife Prof Mahmuda Khatun was the daughter of Shahed Ali Patwari, the then speaker of parliament.
Gafur's eldest son Shakil is working as an associate professor at Rangpur Medical College and youngest son Prof Dr Shayer Gafur teaches at BUET.
