Ahmed Sofa's grave to be moved to Intellectuals' Graveyard

The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has decided to move the grave of renowned thinker and writer of Bengali literature Ahmed Sofa from the general graveyard in Mirpur to the Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard. The decision was taken at the recently held 14th corporation meeting of DNCC following a request from the family.

DNCC sources said that , his nephew Nurul Anwar formally requested the transfer of the grave on behalf of the writer's family on January 11 this year.

The application stated that despite his outstanding contributions to art, literature, society and politics, Ahmed Sofa was not given due state status. Therefore, he needs to be buried in the Intellectuals' Graveyard.

The matter was discussed in detail at the corporation meeting held on April 13. The members present at the meeting voted in favor of transferring the grave. It is learnt that the necessary verification and administrative activities are currently underway to implement the decision.

In this context, Nurul Anwar said, "Since the death of Ahmed Safa, the family wanted to bury him in the Martyred Intellectuals Cemetery. But due to the reluctance of the then administration, it was not possible. The main goal of our application was to restore the dignity he deserves to a personality like Ahmed Sofa.

He also said that he personally allocated the writer's current grave site for 99 years. However, he considers it a moral responsibility to ensure a permanent and dignified place for a nationally renowned intellectual.

Essayist and teacher Salimullah Khan commented that the initiative to move Ahmed Sofa's grave was the result of long-term efforts. He said, after the death of Ahmed Sofa on July 28, 2001, it was not possible to bury him in the Intellectuals Cemetery. Lying in a general cemetery for a long time was a kind of imperfection. The state has decided to give him the dignity he deserves, albeit late.

However, there are also differences of opinion. Essayist and critic Morshed Shafiul Hasan believes that the status of a writer does not depend on the location of his grave. According to him, if Ahmed Sofa's grave had been in Gachbaria, Chandanaish, Chattogram, where he was born, then perhaps the writer himself would have been happier.

Ahmed Safa was born on June 30, 1943, in Chandanaish, Chattogram. He studied at various institutions including Gachbaria Nityananda Gourchandra High School, Brahmanbaria College and Dhaka University.

His writings on the society, politics and history of Bangladesh are still widely discussed. The two books 'Buddhibrtiir Notun Binyash' and 'Bengali Musalmaner Mon' have had a special impact on the Bengali thought. His contributions to various branches of literature - essays, novels, poems and translations - have made him one of the most important contemplative writers of Bangladesh.