Salimullah Khan

Salimullah Khan (Bengali: সলিমুল্লাহ খান, born 18 August 1958) is a Bangladeshi academic, columnist, essayist and critic.

Life

Salimullah Khan's parental home is in Cox's Bazar.He passed his SSC(matriculation) exam from Chittagong Cantonment High School. Later he was admitted to Chittagong College. He studied Law at the University of Dhaka. In 1976, he met noted intellectual Ahmed Sofa, who introduced him to Professor Abdur Razzaq. In 1983, he joined University of Rajshahi as a teacher.^[1] For a brief period, he taught at the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka. In 1986, he went to the United States for studying Economics. Returning home, he joined a private university as a faculty. He worked as the Chief Academic Advisor and a professor in the Department of Law at Stamford University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.^[2] Currently he is a Professor of General Education at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh.^[3]

Intellectual career

Salimullah Khan first came to prominence during his days as a student at the University of Dhaka when he wrote a book on Abdur Razzaq's famous lecture: “Bangladesh: State of the Nation" in 1981. While a student, he edited a periodical called Praxis Journal. Currently he regularly contributes articles in Bengali and English newspapers in Bangladesh. Salimullah Khan writes mainly on history, philosophy, politics, literature, and psychoanalysis. He has written a number of articles on colonialism and imperialism, Bengali language, 1857 War of Indian Independence, 1947 partition, communalism^[4][5] and the relationship between religion and politics,^[6][7] Bangladesh Liberation War, and also wrote on issues such as the Rohingya question,^[8] etc. Khan has also written on Lalon Shah,^[9] Ramaprasad Chanda,^[10]Kazi Nazrul Islam,^[11] Jasimuddin,^[12] Roquia Sakhawat Hussain, Ahmed Sofa,^[13] Abul Hasan, film maker Tareque Masud^[14] and some of his contemporaries. He wrote philosophical commentaries on the works of Charles Baudelaire,^[15] Walter Benjamin, Michel Foucault,^[16] Frantz Fanon,^[17] Claude Lévi-Strauss, Edward Said,^[18] Aime Cesaire,^[19] Talal Asad^[20] and many others.

Khan has translated the works of Plato, James Rennell,^[21] Jacques Lacan,^[22] Charles Baudelaire,^[23] Frantz Fanon, Dorothee Sölle into Bengali. He is associated with a number of organisations such as Center for Asian Arts and Cultures, Ahmad Sofa RashtraSabha, etc. Salimullah Khan has held seminar sessions at the Center for Asian Arts and Cultures on different thinkers and issues.

Views

Khan's views are influenced by Karl Marx and Jacques Lacan.^[24] He has been critical of Rabindranath Tagore's prescriptions on Bengali orthography.^[25] Khan advocates wider official use of Bengali language in Bangladesh.^[26] In a speech subsequently published as an article,^[27] Khan questioned the quality of Amartya Sen's Bengali prose and of discussion on certain classical economists .

In a 2011 debate arranged by bdnews24.com, Salimullah Khan critiqued the portrayal of the Bangladesh Liberation War in the film Meherjaan.^[28]

In the backdrop of Shahbagh Movement in Dhaka, Salimullah Khan came out in strong support of the movement,^[29] and denounced communal attacks.

Bibliography

2013 Salimullah Khan, "Rule of Torture, Rites of Terror and the Mirror of Fascism: A Further Tribute To Frantz Fanon" in Md Shariful Islam (ed.), Human Rights and Governance: Bangladesh (Hong Kong: ALRC): 31–50

2012 REPRINT Allahr Badshahi: Selected poems of Dorothe Soelle, Poetry translation, Second revised edition (Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani and CAAC)

2011 Shadhinota Bebshay, Essay (Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani and CAAC)^[30]

2010 Ahmad Sofa Shonjiboni, Essay (Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani and CAAC)

2010 REPRINT Collected Works of Plato, volume 1, Co-translation and editing, Second revised edition (Dhaka: Mizan Publishers)

2009 Adamboma, Essay (Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani and CAAC)

2009 Silence: On crimes of power, Essay (Dhaka: Samhati and CAAC)

2009 REPRINT Satya Saddam Hussein and ‘Srajerdoula’, Essay, Second expanded edition (Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani and CAAC)

2009 REPRINT Behat Biplop 1971, Editing, Second expanded edition (Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani and CAAC)^[31]

2008 Ami Tumi Shey, Essay (Dhaka: Sangbed and CAAC)

2007 Satya Saddam Hussein and ‘Srajerdoula’, Essay (Dhaka: CAAC)

2007 Behat Biplop 1971, Editing (Dhaka: Onnesha and CAAC)

2005 Freud Porar Bhumika, Editing (Dhaka: CAAC)

2005 Collected Works of Plato, volume 1, Co-translation and editing (Dhaka: Oboshor)

2003 REPRINT Bangladesh: Jatiyo Obosthar Chalchitro, Essay, Third expanded edition (Dhaka: Bangla)

1998 Allahr Badshahi: Selected poems of Dorothe Soelle, Poetry translation (Dhaka: Samabesh)

1993 REPRINT Bangladesh: Jatiyo Obosthar Chalchitro, Essay, Second edition (Dhaka: Praxis Oddyaon Somity)

1983 Bangladesh: Jatiyo Obosthar Chalchitro, Essay (Dhaka: Praxis Oddyaon Somity)

1981 Ek Akasher Swapno, Poetry (Dhaka: Praxis Oddyaon Somity)

References