Habibullah Bahar remembered at Bangla Academy

Speakers at a discussion meeting marking the Amar Ekushey programme at the Bangla Academy lauded late Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury, the litterateur, journalist, sportsman and politician, for his works. They paid glowing tributes to Bahar, a close associate of poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, for his literary and journalistic works at a time when such activities were difficult.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided over the discussion held on the Academy premises Tuesday afternoon, where the keynote paper was presented by researcher Prof Salimullah Khan. The discussants included Dr Md Abdul Qyaium, Prof Kazi Madina and Khushi Kabir. Another paper by Habibullah Bahar's only son Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury, the US-based former chief of the Bangla service of VOA, was read out on the occasion.
The speakers recalled that Bahar and his younger sister Shamsunnahar Mahmud (Nahar) brought out "Bulbul" magazine in Kolkata in the British days and they also were deeply involved in the literary activities. Kazi Nazrul Islam visited Bahar in Chittagong and wrote "Sindhu Hindol" and many a great poem there, said the speakers adding that Bahar was also the captain of the Calcutta Mohammedan sporting club. He was an associate of "Biplobi" Ananta Lal Singh and Gonesh Ghosh during the famous "Chittagong armoury looting" assault against the British rule. As the health minister after the partition in 1947, Bahar eradicated mosquitoes from Dhaka city despite having limited and obsolete equipment. He fell sick while addressing a WHO conference in Dhaka and never recovered from physical handicap that continued until his death in 1966.
Mr Muhith recalled that he met Bahar in Sylhet in his childhood and said the politician was a fiery orator with command in both Bangla and English as he could keep the audience spell-bound for hours. He said such figures are being forgotten these days and it is important that they are remembered for the sake of the history of the nation.
The Bangla Academy is organising "memorial discussion meetings" in February on several key figures, who rendered valuable contribution to different fields, particularly in the literary arena of the country in various phases. Director General of the Academy Shamsuzzaman Khan said these discussions help the people know more about many persons, whose contributions in various ways are not much known. The meetings draw good crowds as the speakers come out with much information about all these illustrious people.