Abul Mansur's 25th death anniversary today

The Abul Mansur Ahmad Memorial Committee has organised doa mahfil at Dhaka and Mymensingh on the occasion.

One of the greatest satirist of Bengali literature, Abul Mansur Ahmad was also a renowned politician, lawyer and a very powerful journalist.

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He was the editor of Daily Krishak, Nabajug and Ittehad in undivided Bengal and a pioneer in progressive journalism.

A very successful politician, Abul Mansur Ahmad was the provincial education minister in the United Front Cabinet under Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq and the central commerce and industries minister of the Awami League government of prime minister Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy. He was known for his strong stand in matters of interest of the then East Bengal.

Abul Mansur Ahmad's publications include great satires such as Aina, Asmani Purdah, Gulliverer Safar Nama and Food Conference. His works also include great writings on social and political history of Bengal. He has two autobiographical writings -- Atma Katha (About myself) and Amar Dekha Rajnitir Panchash Bachar (50 years of politics as I have seen it).

Abul Mansur Ahmad always propagated secularism in a manner unparalleled in the forties, fifties and sixties. His contribution towards opposition movement in the early days of Pakistan was extremely significant.

He wrote about the language issue from early forties and contributed to the Language Movement as the editor of Ittehad.

He was the author of the election manifesto of the Jukta Front (a grand coalition of the three giants of our politics -- Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq, Moulana Bhashani and Shaheed Suhrwardy) in 1954 election through which Muslim League was ousted from power. The 21-point programme (Ekush Dafa) was the first comprehensive articulation of the political, economic and cultural demands of the Bengalis of the then eastern part of Pakistan.

The Bangla Academy has recently published three volumes of Abul Mansur's collected works. Three more volumes are under print.

One of the greatest political personalities of Bangladesh, Abul Mansur Ahmad combined rare talents in three distinct fields -- politics, journalism and literary writings.