Syed Mujtaba Ali
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Syed Mujtaba Ali (Bengali: সৈয়দ মুজতবা আলী ) (1904-1974), was a renowned Bangladeshi author, academician, scholar and linguist. He was born in Sunamganj, in East Bengal.
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[edit] Education and early career
In 1919, Syed Mujtaba Ali was inspired by Rabindranath Tagore and started writing to the poet. In 1921, Mujtaba went to Visva-Bharati and graduated after five years. Later, he went to Kabul and worked in the education department. He earned a PhD from the University of Bonn in Germany in linguistics.
Ali knew French, German, Italian, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, Gujarati, Pashtu, English and several dialects of Bengali.
[edit] Language activism
After the Partition of India in 1947, Syed Mujtaba Ali remained in East Pakistan. He was a language activist and a supporter of Bengali as the national language of Pakistan. In 1949, being the principal of Azizul Haque College, Bogra, he wrote an essay, `The State Language of East Pakistan', which was printed in 'Chaturanga' of Kolkata.
The government of Pakistan wanted an explanation. Mujtaba Ali resigned and went on a self-exile in India. During that time, Urdu was the only state language of Pakistan while Bangla was spoken by most of the people.
Syed Mujtaba Ali did not return for a long time. He hated the authoritarian regime imposed by Pakistan and in 1972, he came back to the newly independent nation Bangladesh.
[edit] Critic
In spite of being a student and follower of Rabindranath Tagore, he strictly opposed the prevalent thinking of the poet about pandits (or the rural teachers). Rabindranath had said,
- "Pondo kore je, Pondito!" (Pandits are they who are the dismissers).
Ali's response was,
- "Rabindranath did not know about the conditions of Pandits in the era of Englishmen, otherwise he would have thought about that situation."
Later, Syed Mujtaba Ali not only did criticize the great poet, but also had written a short story named Padotika, (The Asterisk), where he shows that a pandit's monthly salary was one fourth of the cost for maintaining an Englishman's pet dog.
Perhaps, the telling line in this tale is when the protagonist, (a pandit) asked for the solution to a simple math question,
- "Can anyone of my students tell me, my family's eight members are equal to how many legs of the Englishman's pet?"
[edit] Works
Syed Mujtaba Ali’s literary works were included in the curriculum of school level, secondary, higher secondary and graduation level Bengali Literature in Bangladesh.
[edit] Books
- Deshe Bideshe [1948]
- Panchatantra [1952]
- Obishashsho [1955]
- Chacha Kahini [1955]
- Mayurkanthi [1957]
- Joley Dangay [1957]
- Dhupchaya [1958]
- Chaturanga [1960]
- Sreshtho Golpo [1961]
- Porosh Pathor [1962]
- Bahubichitra [1962]
- Voboghure O Onnanyo [1962]
- Sreshtha Ramma Rochona [1962]
- Tunimem [1964]
- Duhara [1966]
- Pachandashai [1967]
- Shahriyar [1969]
- Hitler [1970]
- Kotona Asrujal [1971]
- Musafir [1971]
- Prem
- Dandya Madhur
- Tulonahin
[edit] References
- Golpo Songroho (Collected Stories), the national text book of B.A. (pass and subsidiary) course of Bangladesh, published by University of Dhaka in 1979 (reprint in 1986).
- Bangla Sahitya (Bengali Literature), the national text book of intermediate (college) level of Bangladesh published in 1996 by all educational boards.
[edit] External links
- Biography, from Banglapedia
