Language movement veteran Ahmad Rafique laid to rest with final tributes

Language movement hero, essayist, and eminent Rabindranath scholar Ahmad Rafique was honoured with state and public tributes at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar on Saturday morning (October 4).

Crowds gathered to pay their respects as his body was brought to the memorial, before being handed over to BIRDEM Hospital in accordance with his wish to donate his remains for medical education and research.

Ahmad Rafique, who passed away Thursday night at age 96, had long battled multiple illnesses, including diabetes, kidney failure, and Alzheimer’s. Born in Brahmanbaria in 1929, he devoted his life to language, literature, and cultural research, leaving behind over a hundred authored and edited works.

Widely revered for his contribution to Rabindra studies, he was honored with the Ekushey Padak, Bangla Academy Award, and the title Rabindratattwacharya by Kolkata’s Tagore Research Institute.

Despite personal solitude following his wife’s death, Ahmad Rafique’s greatest wealth remained his vast personal library.

Intellectuals had long appealed for state recognition and care in his later years, recognising his unmatched legacy in the nation’s literary and cultural history.