Sarkar, Lutfar Rahman

Lutfar Rahman Sarkar

Sarkar, Lutfar Rahman (1939-2013) was the sixth governor of Bangladesh Bank (1996-1998). He was born on 1 February 1934 in a noble Muslim family in Fulcourt village of Amrul Union Board under Sadar Police Station of Bogra District, Bangladesh. He grew up there. His father's name is Alhaj Derajtullah Sarkar who served as Chairman of the Amrul Union Board with a huge reputation. He was on duty as a judge of Bogra Judge Court. Since early years, Lutfar Rahman Sarkar showed himself a champion in studies and also has skills in boat driving, swimming, fishing and football. He was loved by people for his humble and gentle nature. He used to pray regularly. Besides, he used to deliver Azan (call for prayer) in his house. From his teenage years, he started the practice of writing stories, poems and rhymes. He was also a blessed rhyme writer to his readers.

Lutfar Rahman Sarkar passed his the Secondary School Certificate Examinations from Demazani High School of Bogra in 1949 and passed the Higher Secondary Examinations in 1951. He got the BA degree in 1953 from Azizul Haque College, Bogra and passed MA with honors in Political Science from Dhaka University in 1955.

Lutfar Rahman Sarkar started his professional career in Radio Pakistan in 1956 as Broadcasting Analyst Officer. At that time, he joined as officer at Habib Bank Limited in 1957 and there he held various positions including manager in 1965. In the same years (1965), he joined as Chief Manager at then Standard Bank Limited. Later he served as Assistant General Manager and Senior Vice President. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, he was appointed the administrator of Standard Bank Limited by the government. When Standard Bank merged with Rupali Bank in 1972, he served as Deputy General Manager of Rupali Bank. In 1975, he was appointed General Manager of Agrani Bank. He was promoted to the position of Managing Director of Agrani Bank in 1982. He was transferred to the position of Managing Director of Sonali Bank in 1983. In 1985, he got the post of government member in the Money Banking and Credit Commission. From 1988 to 1994 he served as Chief Advisor of Islami Bank Limited. He was the Managing Director of Prime Bank Limited from 1994 to 1996. He served as the Governor of Bangladesh Bank for two years from 1996 to 1998. From 1999 to 2005 he was the Chief Advisor of Mercantile Bank.

Lutfar Rahman was the promoter of people centric banking. He introduced various savings schemes like monthly profit scheme, monthly savings scheme, double growth deposit scheme keeping in mind the limited income people of the society. He introduced lifetime pension schemes and deposit pension schemes. Moreover, various loan schemes were launched for the welfare of low income and small business people. These include Home Loans, Consumer Credit, Small Loans. He introduced the Nari Uddokta Loan Scheme for the welfare of women entrepreneurs. This ensures women's participation in the country's economy. Among the schemes that he introduced are Earn While You Learn, Savings Scheme for School Students (School Banking), Rickshaw Loan Scheme, Agricultural Center Scheme all of which have gained popularity. His innovative project aroused great response among the general public. He played an extensive role in the establishment of the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) and Employment Bank. He was a member of the Financial Sector Reforms Task Force of the Caretaker Government headed by Justice Sahabuddin Ahmed. He was also engaged as a member of the Bank Reform Committee.

His notable works include, Dainik (1967), Seven Colors of the Sun (1976), Tiye Pakhir Biye (1979), Jibon Jokhon Jemon (1980), Notun Bou (1982), Kotipoy Jonopriyo Karjokolap (1988), Khukumanir Shoshur Bari (2003) etc. Various organizations and institutions awarded Lufar Rahman Sarkar medals and honors for his contribution in various fields. For example- 'Sufi Motahar Hossain Literary Award' (1979), 'Aami Tumi Se' (Cumilla) Award 1984, 'Asaf Ud Daulah Memorial Literary Award' (1985), 'Center for Bangladesh Culture Award' (1988), 'Bangladesh Agricultural Council Gold Medal and Correspondence' (1990), 'Kavitalap (Khulna) Award' (1991), 'Bogura Lekhak Chakra Award' (1991), 'Bangla Academy Honorary Fellowship' (1999), 'Mercantile Bank Special Award' (2009), 'Awarded by Association of Bankers, Bangladesh' (ABB) and 'Institute of Bankers Bangladesh' (IBB) (2010).

Lufar Rahman Sarkar passed away on 24th June 2013. [Rafiqul Islam Rafiq]