Ahmed Sharif

Who was Ahmed Sharif?

Ahmed Sharif was an educationist, philosopher, critic, writer and scholar of medieval Bengali literature. Born in Chittagong, Sharif retired as a Professor from University of Dhaka in 1983. Sharif is widely recognized as one of the most outspoken atheist and radical thinkers of Bangladesh. Dr. Ahmed Sharif, the legendary figure of free thought movements of Bangladesh. He was a rational humanist, who left behind a legacy for those fighting fascist ideas, autocratic views, communalism and superstition. Whatever he said or wrote caused a lot of furore in intellectual circles. He had been living a secluded life to avoid the wrath of a section of the public who thought his views to be too dangerous for the establishment. He was a controversial and misunderstood personality among his contemporaries. He was controversial because of his outspoken views against the establishment, intellectuals and political leaders, and above all religious and parochial outlooks. He was always reluctant to be associated with government agencies. Moreover, he was often black-listed from the national media.

Dr Ahmed Sharif was born on 13 February 1921 in Patiya, Chittagong, did his Masters and Ph. D degrees in Bengali literature from the University of Dhaka, in 1944 and 1967 respectively. From 1945 to 1949, he taught at Laksham Nawab Faizunnessa College and later on at Feni College. From July 1949 to 17 December 1950 he worked as Programme Assistant at the Dhaka station of the Radio Pakistan. Finally, on December 18, 1950 he joined as Research Assistant in the Bengali Department, University of Dhaka and retired as Chairman and Professor in 1983. During his time at the DU he was elected a member of the Senate, Syndicate, and the President of Teachers Association and the University Teachers Club. Dr. Sharif remained the only person who was elected the Dean of the Faculty of Arts for three consecutive terms. After his retirement from the Dhaka University, he was offered to join as first "Kazi Nazrul Islam Professor" at the University of Chittagong, where he served from 1984 to 1986. He died on 24 February 1999, in Dhaka.