Syed Mujtoba Ali

Syed Mujtoba Ali

Born in Sylhet in 1904, Syed Mujtoba Ali he had his early education at a government school in the district. In 1921, he went to Shantiniketan (The Home of Peace) and was among the first students of Biswa-Bharati.

After leaving Shantiniketan, Dr Ali studied in Aligarh university, and then took up a teaching assignment in Kabul at the age of 23. Later, he went to Germany and received his doctorate from University of Bonn. From there he joined the Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. On invitation from the Gaekwad of Baroda, he taught as a Professor for eight years in the then undivided India. Soon after that, he began to write a popular column for Anandabazar magazine in Koltata under the pseudonym 'Satyapiir (The True Saint)'. He joined the Ministry of Education in New Delhi and began writing about his travels in the Desh in 1948.

Dr. Ali then spent time working in East Bengal, which by then had become the eastern province of the new state of Pakistan. While serving as Principal of Bogra College, he wrote about the need for a separate state language for Bangalees. In a moment of prescience, he observed that if "Urdu is forced upon the people, they will revolt one day, and eventually secede from West Pakistan. If we leave our mother tongue for fear of being attacked, one day we'll have to leave our homeland for fear of our lives". That was in 1949 -- three years before the Bangla Language Movement began in 1952.

In the early 'fifties, Dr Ali joined Akashbani (Indian radio) as station director and served at Patna, Cuttack, Kolkata and Delhi stations. However, he left that position to go back to Santiniketan and resume his literary pursuits. Incidentally, Dr. Ali wrote at least 28 books in Bangla and has one publication in English. At Biswa-Bharati he was appointed professor of Islamic History and Culture. He also taught German there. Dr. Ali was awarded the Narsingha Das Prize in 1949 and the Ananda Puraskar (Award) in 1961. Independent Bangladesh is yet to offer any formal recognition for his contribution to Bangla literature.

Syed Mujtoba Ali refused to acknowledge the Pakistani state and wrote from Kolkata, which made it increasingly difficult for him to visit his family in East Pakistan. After independence, he was finally able to make his home in Dhanmondi until he passed away on February 11, 1974.

Syed Mujtoba Ali's breathtaking use of Bangla, Farsi, Arabic, French and other languages, his use of metaphor and skilful insertion of verse has few, if any, comparisons amongst Bangla writers. Dr. Ali's writings crossed the imposed borders of caste, geography, language and religion. He never shied away from referring to Hindu folklore that is at the core of Bangla culture, or to European cultural practices, idioms and humour, as he deemed necessary for his craft. He was just as passionate in referring to Tagore as Gurudev as Tagore was in referring to his favourite student as Situ.

Works: Deshe Bideshe, Shabnam

Dr. Sarwat Chowdhury, NY