Chowdhury, Gias Kamal
Chowdhury, Gias Kamal (1939-2013) a renowned journalist, columnist, and news analyst of Bangladesh. Gias Kamal Chowdhury’s ancestral home is in Sharshadi village of Sadar upazila in Feni district. He was born on 21 July 1939 at Nandankanan, Chittagong city, where his father worked. Gias Kamal Chowdhury’s father’s name was Rafiq Uddin Chowdhury, and his mother was Munira Akhtar Khatun.
Gias Kamal Chowdhury passed his Matriculation from Feni High School (now Government Pilot School) and Intermediate from Victoria College, Comilla. He held an MA in degree and LL.B from the University of Dhaka. He also earned Diploma in Journalism from same University. While studying at Dhaka University, he became actively involved in student movement. At that time, he was once expelled from Dhaka University for taking part in the movement against the government of Pakistan.
In 1964, Gias Kamal Chowdhury started his career in journalism with the Dhaka Times, published by the Ittefaq Group. Later, he served as the legal correspondent of the English Daily Morning News. He also worked for Dawn, the leading Daily of undivided Pakistan. In independent Bangladesh, he worked for a long time in Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), and he also served as the Managing Editor of this organization. He worked as the Dhaka correspondent of the Voice of America (VOA). During the anti-Ershad movement in the 1980s, many Bengali-speaking people around the world yearned for his objective news and news analyses in VOA. He also served the Bengali Daily Khabarpatra. Besides journalism, he served as Economic Minister of the Bangladesh High Commission in London. He also served as a member of the Senate and Syndicate of the University of Dhaka.
Gias Kamal Chowdhury had been President of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), and the National Press Club for several terms. He had also worked in the SAARC Journalists Forum. He was a leading and strong voice in the movement for the freedom of the press and the professional rights of the journalist community. He was also active in the cultural sphere of Bangladesh.
Gias Kamal Chowdhury was well known as a nationalist and patriotic journalist. Although not associated with active politics, he fought alongside politicians against imperialism and autocratic rule. As a devoted follower of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, he continued his life-long struggle and writings to protect the interests of the country and the nation. He worked for humanity throughout his life shying away his personal interests.
Gias Kamal Chowdhury had received many honorary awards in his lifetime for his valuable works and services to journalism. He was awarded with Ekushey Padak in 1992 for his outstanding contributions to the field of journalism. Gias Kamal Chowdhury died on 26 October 2013 in Dhaka at the age of 74. [Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman Khan]
