Daud Haider, the first exiled poet, writer, and columnist of independent Bangladesh, has passed away at the age of 73.
He breathed his last on Saturday at a senior care center in Berlin, the capital of Germany.
Swadhin Khosru, a London-based playwright and organizer, confirmed this news to Daily Dazzling Dawn.
The Daily Dazzling Dawn family has expressed deep sorrow over the death of this remarkable poet, writer, and journalist of the Bengali language for nearly the past five decades.
Daud Haider had been suffering from various physical complications for some time. In December 2024, he sustained a head injury after falling on the staircase of his residence in Berlin.
He was subsequently admitted to the ICU.
Although he was later discharged from the hospital, he could never return to a healthy life.
Daud Haider was a celebrated Bangladeshi Bengali poet, writer, and journalist.
His life took a significant turn in 1974 when he was forced into exile from his homeland.
He spent the initial thirteen years in India before moving to Germany in 1987, where he continued to live in exile.
In recent times, he worked as a broadcasting journalist.
A prominent figure in modern Bengali poetry, he is widely recognized as one of the leading poets of the 1970s.
His notable works include the poignant collection of poems titled "Jonmoi Amar Ajonmo Pap" (Birth is My Inborn Sin).
A pivotal moment in his life occurred following the publication of his poem "Kalo Surjer Kalo Jyotsnay Kalo Bannyay" (In the Black Flood of the Black Moonlight of the Black Sun) in the Dainik Sangbad newspaper on February 24, 1974.
The poem sparked legal action against him, accused of offending religious sentiments.
Consequently, police arrested him on March 11, 1974, on these charges, and on May 21, 1974, the government expelled him from the country.
Earlier in his career, during the early 1970s, Daud Haider served as the editor of the literary page of Dainik Sangbad.
In 1973, the London Society for Poetry bestowed the prestigious "The Best Poem of Asia" award upon one of his poems.
It was in the literary pages of Sangbad that he penned "Kalo Surjer Kalo Jyotsnay Kalo Bannyay."
More recently, he was a regular columnist for Bangla Tribune.
Born in Pabna on February 21, 1952, Daud Haider wore many hats – he was a poet, a writer, and a journalist.
The tumultuous public unrest of 1974 ultimately led to his forced departure from his beloved Bangladesh.
