Ahmed, AF Salahuddin
Ahmed, AF Salahuddin (1924-2014) a liberal, non-sectarian, freethinker, historian, and National Professor of Bangladesh. His real name is Abul Faiz Salahuddin Ahmed; however, he is popularly known to as AF Salahuddin Ahmed. He was a life-long dedicated researcher and a humanist in belief and behavior, and this ideal is reflected in his works.
Salahuddin Ahmed's ancestral home is at Banshbaria in the Faridpur district of Bangladesh. But, he was born on 21 September, 1924, in Motihari, the headquarters of Champaran district of Bihar, where his father was in service at the time. Salahuddin Ahmed’s father, Abu Ahmed Faizul Mahi, paternal grandfather, Mawlovi Ahmed, and maternal grandfather, Azizul Haque, were all students of the Presidency College in Kolkata and civil servants in their professional careers. Salahuddin Ahmed, who spent his youth and adolescence in Kolkata, where his father was working. He passed matriculation in 1938 from Taltala High School and Intermediate from Kolkata Ripon College (now Surendranath College) in 1940. He obtained his BA (Hons.) degree in History from the Presidency College (now Presidency University), Kolkata, in 1943 and MA from Calcutta University in 1944. He then moved to America and completed his second MA in History from the University of Pennsylvania. AF Salahuddin Ahmed received his PhD in 1961 from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. The title of his thesis was ‘Social Ideas and Social Change in Bengal 1818-1835’. His dissertation was published as a book in a revised form in 1965 by the famous publishing house Leiden in The Netherlands. The second edition of the book was published in Kolkata. In the first half of the 19th century, the impacts of the British colonial rule in general and the multifaceted changes in Bengal in particular, have been discussed in this book. This book earned immense popularity and had made Salahuddin Ahmed a noted social historian at home and abroad. The International Center for Bengal Studies, Dhaka, published the Bengali translation of this book in 2000 with the title উনিশ শতকে বাংলার সামাজিক চিন্তা ও সামাজিক বিবর্তন ১৮১৮-১৮৩৫.
Salahuddin Ahmed started his illustrious teaching career by joining as lecturer in the Department of History, jagannath college, Dhaka, in 1948. He had later joined as Senior Lecturer in the Department of History, University of Rajshahi and became Reader and Professor subsequently. In 1972, he joined the newly established jahangirnagar university as a Professor in the Department of History, and later, in 1977, he moved to the Department of History, University of Dhaka. After his retirement from the University of Dhaka in 1984, he was involved in teaching and research at the same university as a Supernumerary Professor for several years. Salahuddin Ahmed also served as Professor and Head of the Department of National Culture and Heritage, Independent University of Bangladesh. In addition, he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Bangladesh Studies, university of rajshahi. Apart from teaching at various universities in the country, Professor Salahuddin Ahmed was involved in teaching and research at some foreign universities, too. He studied and researched the History and Culture of Modern Japan at Kyoto University in Japan as a UNESCO Fellow in 1956. In 1963, he taught as a visiting lecturer on the History of South Asia at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago.
Salahuddin Ahmed was a progressive, liberal-minded cultured, rational, secular, and humanistic intellectual. During his student life, he joined the anti-British movement in Kolkata. He also developed a penchant for left-wing politics. He joined the active politics of Radical Democratic Party through his acquaintance with Communist leader manabendra nath roy (popularly known as MN Roy). He served as Joint Secretary of the Kolkata Port Commissioners Workers Union and General Secretary of All Bengal Post and Telegraph Union. During the Kolkata communal riots of 1946, he left politics and joined the Red Cross to work for the prevention of riots and helping the victims. While teaching at Jagannath College in Dhaka, he founded the Rationalist Club with his friends Jyotirmay Guh Thakurta and Habibur Rahman. A periodical called ‘Mukti’ was published as the mouthpiece of the club. Professor Salahuddin Ahmed was closely associated with the Bangladesh Itihas Parishad formed for studying history in the Bengali language. He served three terms as the president of this organization. He was editor of the Itihas, the journal of Bangladesh Itihas Parishad. Professor Ahmed was the president of the United Nations Association of Bangladesh. He was also a council member of the asiatic society of bangladesh. He was actively associated with many research institutes, including Bangla Academy.
Professor Salahuddin Ahmed started his writings in early 1950s. His main area of research interest was 19th-century Bengal. However, his scope of writing was much wider. He has authored several books and edited some others. As a teacher of history, Salahuddin Ahmed has not confine himself only to the study of academic history but he also played a role as a public intellectual. Besides writing about history and tradition, he has written numerous articles in newspapers and magazines about Bangladesh’s Liberation War, nationalism, secularism, social issues, and contemporary political events. Some of these articles have been included in his anthologies. Notable among the books written and edited by Salahuddin Ahmed include Social Ideas and Social Change in Bengal 1818-35 (1965); Bangladesh: Tradition and Transformation (1987); India, Pakistan, Bangladesh: Perspective on History, Society and Culture (2001); Bengali Nationalism and Emergence of Bangladesh: An Introductory Outline (1994); History and Heritage: Reflections on Society, Politics and Culture of South Asia (2007); বাংলাদেশে জাতীয় চেতনার উন্মেষ ও বিকাশ (১৯৯১); বাঙালির সাধনা ও বাংলাদেশের মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (১৯৯২); ইতিহাসের সন্ধানে (১৯৯৫); বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদ, স্বাধীনতা, গণতন্ত্র (১৯৯৩); বাংলাদেশ: অতীত, বর্তমান ও ভবিষ্যত (২০০০); এবং ইতিহাস, ঐতিহ্য, জাতীয়তাবাদ, গণতন্ত্র(২০১৩).
Professor Salahuddin Ahmed received many honors and awards for his fundamental contribution to the field of history, education, and research. Among these are the awards of Bangladesh ‘Ekushey Padak’ (1991) and ‘Swadhinata Padak (Independence Day Award, 1999). bangla academy and the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh also honored him with fellowships. Recognizing his scholarship and contribution to learning, the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh appointed Salahuddin Ahmed National Professor in 2011.
National Professor AF Salahuddin Ahmed passed away on 19 October, 2014, in Dhaka. He was the 90 years old. [Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman Khan]
