Abul Mansur was a literary giant, statesman, visionary
Academics and writers have termed Abul Mansur Ahmad a visionary statesman, litterateur and journalist whose life was dedicated to the much needed social and political reforms for the progress of common people of his era.
The social and political double standards and hypocrisy exposed in his satiric stories and articles are very relevant today and can provide valuable lessons for the present generation for nation building, they said yesterday.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. “Abul Mansur's political wisdom was unique. When there were discussions of Pakistan movement in undivided India in 1944, he talked of three nations – India, West Pakistan and East Bengal,” said Professor Emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman.
He always fought for the Muslims of East Bengal who were deprived of their economic and political rights, said Anisuzzaman, chairman of Abul Mansur Smriti Parishad.
The observations came at the daylong Abul Mansur Ahmad Memorial Conference organised by Abul Mansur Ahmad Smriti Parishad in the Abdul Karim Shahitya Bisharad Auditorium of the Bangla Academy on the occasion of his 117th birth anniversary on September 3.
For the first time, five academics were presented awards for their research works on Abul Mansur Ahmad. They are Dr Nurul Amin, Dr Rajib Humayun, Dr Mizanur Rahman, Dr Md Chenggis Khan and Emran Mahfuz.
A special recognition was accorded to Dr Rafiqul Islam for editing the six volume collection of Abul Mansur's works.
Each was given a crest, a certificate and Tk 50,000.
The daylong conference was divided into three sessions focusing on Abul Mansur's literary, journalistic, and political life respectively. Eminent academics, writers, journalists and social activists attended the event.
In the first session on litterateur Abul Mansur Ahmad was chaired by writer and novelist Syed Shamsul Haque. He said, “Abul Mansur made great contribution to the satirical literature of Bengal through his stories like 'Aina' and 'Food Conference'. In fact, after him there was almost none to write true satires.”
Writing such satires on Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy while working directly under them needed great courage, he said.
“Today, satirical writings are absent in literature. Even, the editors don't dare to print satirical cartoons. Our society has become so touchy,” the novelist said.
Novelist Selina Hossain said Abul Mansur Ahmad was a guiding light in the world of literature during the 50s, whose essays are comparable only to world literature.
“None other than the highly talented litterateurs was able to write satires like him in the world of literature. His satires were very sharp,” she said, adding that his stories still resonate with readers because of their relevance to today's society and politics.
In his paper, Dr Biswajit Ghosh of Dhaka University said Abul Mansur actually tried to instill his progressive ideas through his creative and political satires.
“He was against the religious fundamentalism and hypocrisy of both the Muslims and the Hindus. 'Food Conference' is but a reflection of the self interests of the then social and political leaders,” he said.
In the second session, chaired by Professor Emeritus Dr Rafiqul Islam, columnist Syed Abul Maksud said as a journalist, Abul Mansur focused on the progress of the then backward Muslim society and wrote on how the Hindus and Muslims can together build a nation.
As a professional journalist and a political activist until the 1947 partition, Abul Mansur worked actively for the Krisak, Navajug, Ittehad, Soltan and the Mohammadi among other periodicals.
“Most of the newspapers he worked for were progressive. For example, Navajug and Ittehad played critical roles in inspiring the then Muslim youths,” he said, adding that it was the reason the Pakistan government did not allow Ittehad to be published from East Bengal.
Journalist Abul Momen said Abul Mansur had very clear and sharp opinions on the progress of the Muslims.
Ittehad had many sections covering the issues of women, literature, and entertainment and encouraged the Muslim youths to get into journalism. The ideals of democracy and non-communalism were very strong in his writings, said Abul Momen.
Professor Emeritus Dr Rafiqul Islam said Abul Mansur's newspaper articles added new dimension to the language movement.
Journalist Muhammad Jahangir proposed publishing a compilation of Abul Mansur's newspaper articles relevant for today. He also suggested publishing his book “Amar Dekha Rajneetir Ponchash Bochhor” in English for a wider audience.
In the third session, chaired by Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman, Dr Abul Ahsan Chowdhury of Islamic University termed Abul Mansur an exceptional politician. Unlike the traditional politicians, Abul Mansur was a man true to his words, he said.
Abul Mansur, who started politics by joining the Khilafat Movement, became the acting prime minister of Pakistan in the Awami League government of Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in 1957.
“He would learn of every aspect of society and politics -- diplomacy, palace conspiracy and the game of thrones, but never try to be involved in it. He was honest,” said Dr Abul Ahsan.
Abul Mansur did not spare the mighty like Suhrawardy and Sher-e-Bangla in his political satires, he said, adding that he was connected with the common people.
“We need to understand Abul Mansur deeply so we can be benefited from his wisdom,” he said.
Prof Habib ar Rahman of Islamic University, Kushtia said the North and Northwestern Indians always looked down on the Indians of the East including Bengal.
“Abul Mansur was against such discrimination and on the side of the deprived,” he said.
Lauding Abul Mansur Ahmad's role as editor of Ittehad, journalist Kamal Lohani said Ittehad was so progressive that it created discomfort among the newspapers favouring the Hindus.
Bangla Academy Director General Shamsuzzaman Khan said Abul Mansur had a very sharp sense of logic, which he properly used in his literature, journalism and politics.
Abul Mansur Ahmad researchers Dr Morshed Shafiul Hossain, Dr Chenggis Khan, Dr Nurul Amin and Dr Mizanur Rahman also spoke.
On behalf of Abul Mansur Smriti Parishad and his families, Mahfuz Anam, son of Abul Mansur Ahmad and editor and publisher of The Daily Star, thanked all the participants, including speakers, panelists, and article writers for their contributions at the conference.
On the occasion, some original books of Abul Mansur Ahmad were republished, while Prothoma published a memorial book on him. An audio-visual presentation on him was also shown at the conference.
Comments