In remembrance of Khan Sarwar Murshid and Noorjehan Murshid

A remembrance programme for eminent educationist Khan Sarwar Murshid and social activist Noorjehan Murshid was held by Murshid Trust on Wednesday. It was organised marking the 9th death anniversary of Khan Sarwar Murshid at Noorjehan-Murshid Cultural Centre at Dhanmondi in the capital.

Among others, Dr Kamal Hossain, Rafiqun Nabi, Mahadev Saha, Mahmud Shah Qureshi and Amir Hossain attended the programme, presided over by Ekushey Padak-winning educationist Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury.

The organisers announced the launching of Uttarsury, a platform which will seek to bridge the gap between the pre-independence generation and the current generation.

Professor Parveen Hasan delivered the welcome speech. She noted that both Khan Sarwar Murshid and Noorjehan Murshid represent the 1950s and 1960s, the golden era which gave rise to the values and spirit that gave us a free nation, adding that she highly doubts present Bangladesh is what they had imagined back then.

Khan Sarwar Murshid's daughter Tazeen Murshid talked about her mother Noorjehan Murshid, who was a journalist, politician and social activist.

Theatre activist M Hamid noted that both Khan Sarwar Murshid and Noorjehan Murshid made critical contributions to the intellectual, social and cultural practices of Bangladesh, before and after independence. They actively participated in different socio-political movements of the 1950s and onwards, he added.

Sharmeen Murshid, daughter of Khan Sarwar Murshid, shared that they have drawn up a plan to launch a new platform called Uttarsury, which will bridge the gap between the generation of the 1950s and the current generation. Uttarsury will operate as Noorjehan-Murshid Cultural Centre to uphold the values of the generation of Khan Sarwar Murshid and Noorjehan Murshid.

She further said that they will start with two annual research grants for the researchers who want to study more about the 1950s and 1960s. Secondly, they will arrange talks on diverse socio-cultural issues, and thirdly, they will develop an archive portraying the scholars of that era. Eventually, they may consider establishing a museum, she added.

Moreover, Serajul Islam Choudhury hoped that Uttarsury's activities will be focused on the youth because this reawakening would lead to social change, adding that while we have established a state, we have failed to transform the society.