He was not a son of our soil. He was born in a noble and aristocratic family in a remote village of Gazipur, Uttar Pradesh, India on January 18, 1932. He maintained his noble and aristocratic nature throughout his whole life. Barrister Ishtiaq became more Bangali than the Bangali itself. His oratory in Bangla was superb and one can wonder how he achieved this goal.

Apart from his legal profession, he had always been busy with many kind of works and became a public figure. He spent his entire life in legal profession, a profession with no set hours. Even being so gifted, he never took things for granted and was a hard working man.

After attending the cases in the Supreme Court, he had to spend hours in his chambers with his juniors. Some of the brightest lawyers in our country today were once his juniors or students, and still cherish their fond memories working with him. The depth of his knowledge was astronomical and it seemed that the essence of many matters were at his fingertips.

He was politically a conscious man, although he did not join in any political party. By asking him about it, I tried to find out the reason behind. But all the time, smile on his face, he put back the question towards me and used to ask me to find a political party, which went by its objectives and visions truly and firmly. Because of his non-political affiliations, he became two-time adviser of the neutral caretaker government in our country.

Barrister Ishtiaq was a visionary. He had a vision to separate judiciary from that of administration. He started it as an adviser of the last caretaker government but could not finish it because of his sojourn stay. But, still five years after that and many a times' reminder from the Supreme Court, the government yet to finalise that chapter.

We wonder how Barrister Ishtiaq would have been reacted and feel about the current political environment in our country including the public attitudes towards the judicial system. He deeply thought about our country. He was firmly committed to the ideals of democracy. He loved to see this country that the citizens here would live in true democratic conditions with peace and harmony, where the rule of law will prevail.

He was a courageous man. His undaunted courage to speak up for truth and justice was widely known. He was widely respected, a vast knowledgeable lawyer, and for that he often called by the Supreme Court as Amicus Curie (friend of the court) to assist them in most difficult and complex issues particularly on constitutional matters.

The nation will not forget that under his leadership, the 8th amendment to the constitution of our country, concerning establishment of several High Courts in different places of our country, was declared unconstitutional and void in 1989. He was arrested and detained for this movement. Barrister Ishtiaq loved his profession very much and he was born to be a lawyer.

He used to love roses very much. Those who have gone to his Gulshan house would never forget the variety of roses he used to plant near the veranda of his downstairs chamber and drawing rooms. Good-natured, wit and humour and urbanity were the characteristics of Barrister Ishtiaq, and in many ways he was a true aristocrat.

He had style and intelligence to match his lively nature among his close family members and friends. Barrister Ishtiaq is no more to us today, but his legacy will remain as inspiration to our society. We pressingly feel the need of his presence in the present scenario of our country.

May the soul of Barrister Ishtiaq Ahmed rest in eternal peace.

The writer is a Professor, Department of Geography & Environment, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka.