Abul Kashem facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mohammad Abul Kashem
মোহাম্মদ আবুল কাশেম
Kashem receiving Ekushey Padak (1987)
Born	(1920-06-28)28 June 1920 Chittagong District, Bengal, British India (now Bangladesh)
Died	11 March 1991(1991-03-11) (aged 70) Dhaka, Bangladesh
Spouse(s)	Rahela Kashem Momtaz Kashem

Mohammad Abul Kashem (born June 28, 1920 – died March 11, 1991) was a very important person in the history of Bangladesh. People often call him Principal Abul Kashem. He is known as a leader and the main person behind the historic Language Movement in Bangladesh. Besides this, he was also a politician, a writer, and a famous educator. He started a Bengali cultural group called Tamaddun Majlish, which focused on Islamic values.

Early Life and Education

Mohammad Abul Kashem was born on June 28, 1920. His birthplace was a village called Cheebandy-Barama in the Chittagong District. This area is now part of Bangladesh.

He was a very bright student. In 1939, he finished his Matriculation Examination with top marks. He also received a special scholarship from the government. Later, in 1941, he passed his Isc exam with excellent results from Chittagong Government College.

Kashem then went to Dhaka University. He earned a Bachelor of Science (honors) degree in Physics in 1944. The next year, in 1945, he completed his Master of Science degree in Physics. For his master's research, he worked with the famous scientist Satyendra Nath Bose.

Leading the Language Movement

Abul Kashem was involved in cultural activities in Bangladesh for about 50 years. After Pakistan became independent in 1947, he worked hard to make Bengali one of the official state languages.

On September 1, 1947, he started the Pakistan Tamaddun Majlish. This was a cultural group, not a political one. Its goal was to get students, thinkers, and regular people to support the Bengali language.

Just two weeks later, on September 15, 1947, he published a booklet. It was titled Pakistaner Rashtra Bhasha: Bangla Na Urdu? (Pakistan's State Language: Bengali or Urdu?). In this booklet, he strongly asked for Bengali to be an official language for all of Pakistan. He also wanted Bengali to be used for education, in courts, and in government offices in East Pakistan.

His hard work led to the creation of the first Rashtrabhasa Sangram Parishad. This was a committee formed on October 1, 1947, to fight for the state language. Kashem was the treasurer of this committee.

On December 6, 1947, Kashem led a meeting at Dhaka University. They protested a decision made in Karachi to make Urdu the only state language. A protest march followed the meeting. The marchers met with Khawaja Nazimuddin, who was the Chief Minister at the time. Nazimuddin promised to help make Bengali an official language.

Kashem also helped organize a big strike across the country on March 11, 1948. This strike was to push for the language demand. Because of this strike, the government had to sign an agreement. This happened on March 15, 1948, just before Muhammad Ali Jinnah visited Dhaka. The agreement was to introduce Bengali as one of Pakistan's state languages.

Career and Achievements

Abul Kashem started his career as a Physics lecturer at Dhaka University in 1946. He was the first person to teach classes in Bengali at Dhaka University. He worked there as a lecturer until 1953.

He was also active in politics. In 1952, he helped start the Khilafat-e-Rabbani Party. In 1954, he became a member of the provincial assembly. He represented the Patia-Boalkhali area in Chittagong. As a member, he suggested that Bengali should be used for teaching at all levels.

On September 30, 1956, he proposed that Bengali become a state language. This idea was approved by everyone. This is how Bengali officially became one of Pakistan's state languages in the constitution.

In 1948, he started a weekly newspaper called Sainik. This newspaper became a voice for the historic Language Movement.

Kashem believed that Bengali should be used for higher education. To make this happen, he founded the Bangla College in Mirpur, Dhaka, in 1962. He served as the Principal of this college until 1981. He was a pioneer in creating textbooks in Bengali for college and university students. He also helped start using Bengali for exam questions in higher education.

Certificate of Ekushey Padak awarded to Language Soldier Abul Kashem in Bengali language.

Mohammad Abul Kashem received many national and social awards for his work. These include the Independence Day Award in 1993 and the Ekushey Padak in 1987. He also won the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1982 for his book Biggan Somaj O Dhormo. Other awards include the Islamic Foundation Award in 1988 and the Pakistan Writers Guild Award in 1964.

In 1989, a national event was held in Dhaka to honor him. Many famous scholars and writers from Bangladesh and India attended. In 2007, the Dhaka City Corporation renamed a road in Mirpur-1 after him. It is now called Bhasha Sainik Principal Abul Kashem Road. This was to honor his important role in the Language Movement.

Mohammad Abul Kashem passed away on March 11, 1991, in Dhaka.

List of Works

Abul Kashem was a very productive writer. He wrote almost 100 books. These included textbooks on science for university students. He also wrote books about education, Islam, culture, and politics. About 40 of his books were textbooks on physics and other science subjects for colleges and universities.

Here are some of his well-known books:

Bengali Books

English Books

Images for kids

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  Kashem receiving Ekushey Padak (1987)

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  Certificate of Ekushey Padak awarded to Language Soldier Abul Kashem in Bengali language.