Language Movement veteran Ahmad Rafique no more

Eminent Language Movement veteran, poet, essayist and Rabindra scholar Ahmad Rafique passed away on Thursday night while undergoing treatment at BIRDEM Hospital in the capital. He was 96.

Hospital sources confirmed that Rafique died at 10:12 pm, shortly after ventilation support was withdrawn.

He had been admitted to BIRDEM on September 11. Earlier, in August, he was twice hospitalized at Labaid Hospital. Doctors said he had long been suffering from diabetes, hypertension, kidney complications, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, electrolyte imbalance, bedsores, and lung infections.

Born on September 12, 1929, in Shahbazpur of Brahmanbaria, Rafique actively took part in the historic Language Movement of 1952, working closely with students across different campuses. He earned his MBBS degree from Dhaka Medical College in 1954 but chose to dedicate his life to literature and research instead of pursuing a medical career.

For his role in the Language Movement and his pioneering contributions to Bengali literature, Ahmad Rafique is remembered as a lasting figure in the nation’s history.