An Architect of the Language Movement

Principal Abul Kashem, 1987, after receiving the Ekushey Padak.

Mohammad Abul Kashem (1920-1991) is considered one of the architects of Bangladesh's historic language movement. He was a renowned politician, author and an eminent educationist. His contributions during the early days of independence from the British Raj were monumental. On his 23rd death anniversary on  March 11, we remember this great scholar and activist for his pioneering contributions.

As a teacher Abul Kashem was the first person to deliver lectures in Bengali at the Dhaka University
He was the first person to demand the recognition of a as state language Bengali
He was the founder of a Islam oriented cultural organisation known as Tamaddun Majlish, that had many eminent personalities of the historic language movement
He formed the Rashtrabhasha Shangram Parishad (State Language Committee of Action) which led the language movement
He founded the weekly Sainik in 1948, which acted as a mouth piece of the Language Movement

Principal Abul Kashem, 1952, taken during the Bengali Language Movement.

Abul Kashem was born on June 28, 1920 in Chandanaish, Chittagong
He completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from Dhaka University in 1945
Famous mathematician and physicist Satyendranath Bose was the supervisor of his master's thesis
Later he began his career as a lecturer in the Physics department at Dhaka University in 1946

Abul Kashem was the forerunner in introducing textbooks in Bengali for higher education
He felt the need of introducing Bengali as the medium of higher education in colleges and universities
With his dream, he established the Bangla College at Mirpur, Dhaka in 1962 and served as its Principal till 1981
Abul Kashem became famous as Principal Abul Kashem

Abul Kashem was closely involved in politics

Principal Abul Kashem

He was a member of the provincial assembly as a United Front nominee in 1954 from the Patia-Boalkhali constituency in Chittagong
On September 30, 1956 as a member of the Legislative Assembly he proposed  Bengali as the state-language and it was unanimously  approved
Thus, Bengali received constitutional recognition as one of the State languages of Pakistan

For his contributions, Abul Kashem was awarded with the Ekushey Padak in 1987
For his book Biggan, Shomaj o Dhormo (Science, Soceity and Religion) he received the  Bangla Academy Award in 1982
Principal Abul Kashem authored nearly 100 books on Islam, science, politics and culture
He also wrote 40 textbooks on physics and other science subjects for college and university students
Pincipal Abul Kashem, a man of knowledge and culture, died in Dhaka on March 11, 1991