Ahmed, Qazi Afsaruddin

Ahmed, Qazi Afsaruddin (1921-1975) journalist, writer. Qazi Afsaruddin Ahmed was born on 24 September 1921 at Chatmohar in Pabna district. His paternal home was at village Kalta in Manikganj district. He had to leave school and discontinue formal education while a student of class IX at Chittagong Collegiate School. Later, he went to Calcutta and took up journalism as his profession. Between 1941 and 1946 he edited a bi-monthly literary magazine styled as Mrittika.

He was also associated with the monthly Shaogat and the weekly Dexer Katha (1943-44). Later, he served as acting editor of monthly Mohammadi (1945-47). After the partition of India he returned to Dhaka and edited a daily newspaper Zindegi (1947). He was also the acting editor of the daily Insaf. In 1951, he joined Information Department of the government as a senior sub-editor. From that time onward till 1972 he served as the editor of weekly Pak-Samachar and a juvenile magazine Nabarun published by the Information Department. He won the Bangla Academy Award for Literature in 1966 for his novel Char BhabaChar (1951). He died in Dhaka on 26 March 1975. [Mir Farjana Sharmin]