Nirmal Sen passes away
Veteran journalist and left politician Nirmal Sen died at LabAid Hospital in the capital yesterday. He was 82.
He breathed his last around 6:30pm, Al Imran Chowdhury, a director of the hospital, told The Daily Star.
Born in 1930 at Kotalipara in Gopalganj, he participated in the anti-British movement and also played a vital role in all other movements, including the Liberation War and anti-autocratic movement.
Nirmal, president of Gonotantrik Biplobi Party, was admitted to the LabAid Hospital on December 23 last year with old age complications.
Earlier in 2003, he suffered a brain stroke. He was taken to Singapore for treatment, but was brought back three months later due to financial constraints. Later, he underwent treatment at Savar CRP for eight months.
President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condoled his death in separate statements and recalled his contribution to political arena and press freedom and sought eternal blessings for the departed soul.
Opposition leader and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, Speaker Abdul Hamid, Deputy Speaker Shawkat Ali, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu and Industries Minister Dilip Barua also issued statements mourning the death.
A lifelong bachelor, Nirmal Sen suffered a brain stroke again in October 2011 that left him paralysed, reports BSS.
Subsequently, he lost his speaking ability as his condition worsened in recent months.
Family sources said Sen was brought to Dhaka from his village home for hospitalisation late last month as he was suffering from acute pneumonia and was kept on life support for the past 10 days. He died as the life support was withdrawn as doctors found no sign of his recovery.
Sen made his debut in journalism during Pakistan period and worked for Dainik Paigam and subsequently the then Dainik Pakistan and later the now-defunct Dainik Bangla where he earned much repute for his famous column under pen name "Aniket".
He was the founder president of the Federation of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) in the post independence era in 1972 and 1973 and played a pioneering role in ensuring press freedom and journalists' rights.
Being a politician, Sen played a glorious role in all pro-democracy movements and upholding the cause of the downtrodden since Pakistan period.
The two factions of the BFUJ and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) paid their rich tributes to Sen, who was active in expressing his thoughts about the country's welfare through writing with the aide's help even after he was paralysed and often visited the Jatiya Press Club on a wheel chair.
Jatiya Press Club and Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi also expressed deep sorrow at his death and conveyed sympathy to the bereaved family members.
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