Educationist Syed Manzoorul Islam no more

Syed Manzoorul Islam, emeritus professor of the Department of English at the Dhaka University, and a novelist and essayist, has passed away.

He breathed his last around 5:00pm on Friday, October 10, while undergoing treatment at Labaid Specialized Hospital in Dhaka.

Mazharul Islam, CEO of Anyaprokash, confirmed the matter.

Earlier on October 3, Syed Manzoorul Islam had suffered a massive heart attack on his way to the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) in the capital's Dhanmondi. He was initially treated at a hospital and later, admitted to Labaid Specialized Hospital.

He had undergone heart surgery at the hospital, and subsequently, he was put on life support.

Born on January 18, 1951, in Sylhet, Prof Manzoorul was the son of Syed Amirul Islam and Rabeya Khatun. He completed his Secondary School Certificate from Sylhet Government Pilot High School in 1966 and his Higher Secondary Certificate from MC College, Sylhet. He earned both his BA and MA in English from Dhaka University and received his PhD in 1981 from Queen’s University in Canada, with research on the influence of Emanuel Swedenborg’s philosophy on W.B. Yeats’s poetry.

A retired professor of Dhaka University’s English dept, he later taught at ULAB. He authored several acclaimed works, including Thaka Na Thakar Golpo, Kach Vanga Rater Golpo, Ondhokar o Alo Dekhar Golpo, Adhkhana Manushyo, Dinratriguli, Ajgubi Rat, Tin Porber Jibon, and Nandantattwa.

In recognition of his contributions to Bangla literature, Professor Islam received the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1996 and the Ekushey Padak in 2018.

With inputs from UNB