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Muhammad Shahidullah | |
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মুহম্মদ শহীদুল্লাহ | |
 Shahidullah in a literary conference inCurzon Hall, Dhaka (April 1954) | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1885-07-10)10 July 1885 |
| Died | 13 July 1969(1969-07-13) (aged 84) Dacca,East Pakistan, Pakistan |
| Spouse | Marguba Khatun |
| Children | 9, includingMuhammad Takiullah andMurtaja Baseer |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation |
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| Honours |  Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1967) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Creed | Maturidi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Disciple of | Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique |
| Awards |  Independence Day Award (1980) |
Muhammad Shahidullah (Bengali:মুহম্মদ শহীদুল্লাহ; 10 July 1885 – 13 July 1969)[3] was aBengali linguist, philologist, educationist, and writer.[4][5] He played vital role in Language movement of 1952 he was the first to establish logic about why Bengali should be the state language of Pakistan over Urdu.[6]
In 2004, he was ranked number 16 in theBBC's poll of theGreatest Bengali of all time.[7][8][9] He is considered one of the best scholars of linguistics that South Asia ever produced.[10]There is a residential hall in Dhaka University named after him.[11]
Shahidullah was born on 10 July 1885 to aBengali Muslim family in the village of Peyara in the erstwhileBengal Presidency's24 Parganas district. His father, Mafizuddin Ahmed, was the guardian of amazar, and his mother, Marguba Khatun, was a housewife.
Shahidullah passed his school final entrance exam in 1904 fromHowrah Zilla School. In 1906, he passed the FA exam fromPresidency College inKolkata. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours inSanskrit in 1910 fromCity College, Kolkata, and his Master of Arts degree in 1912 in comparative philology from theUniversity of Calcutta. He earned his PhD degree fromSorbonne University in 1928 for his research on the dialects of theCharyapada.[3] He was the first Bengali Muslim to receive this doctorate degree. He was also amurid (disciple) ofMohammad Abu Bakr Siddique, the inauguralPir of Furfura, from whom he received mystic education andkhilafah (spiritual succession).[12][13]
Shahidullah began his career by teaching atJessore Zila School in 1908. After working as the headmaster of Sitakunda High School for some time in 1914, he practiced law at Bashirhat in 24 Parganas. In 1915, he was elected as vice-chairman of the town's municipality. He was Sharatchandra Lahiri Research Fellow (1919–21) underDinesh Chandra Sen at the University of Calcutta and joined theUniversity of Dhaka as a lecturer in 1921 in Sanskrit and Bangla. During his period at the University of Dhaka, he did research on the origins of the Bengali language. In 1925, he presented his thesis that Bangla as a language originated from Gaudi orMagadhi Prakrit. He was principal of Bogra Azizul Huq College from 1944 to 1948. He then returned to the University of Dhaka, serving as head of the Bangla Department and dean of the Faculty of Arts. He taught part-time at the Law Department (1922–25) and the International Relations Department as a teacher of French (1953–55). He worked as head of the Bangla and Sanskrit Department of the University of Rajshahi (1955–58).[14]
He served as an editor for theIslami Bishwakosh project for a while.[15][16]
Muhammad Shahidullah's mastery of different languages was extraordinary and outstanding. He was fluent in 24 languages and had an outstanding knowledge of 18 languages. Some of the notable languages areBengali,Urdu,Persian,Arabic, English, French,Assamese,Oriya,Maithili,Hindi,Punjabi,Gujarati,Marathi,Kashmiri,Nepali,Sinhala,Tibetan,Sindhi,Sanskrit,Pali, etc.[17]
Shahidullah has seven sons and two daughters. Children:Mohammad Raziullah,Mohammad Safiyullah,Mohammad Waliullah,A K Mohammad Zakiyullah,Mohammad Taqiullah,Mohammad Naqiullah,Mohammad Bashirullah,Mohzuza Haque (born Khatun),Masrura Haque (born Khatun).
His third son, A.K.M. Zakiyullah, established a school named 'Dr. Shahidullah Gyanpith' in Hazi Osman Goni Road, Alu bazaar (Old Dhaka) and a research library named 'Dr. Shahidullah Memorial Library and Language Research Center' in Senpara Parbata, Mirpur-10, Dhaka.
Another of his sons, Abul Bayan M. Naqiyyullah (M.S) studied at George Washington University in Washington, DC, US and settled in Cairo, Egypt, after serving as a pathologist in Saudi Arabia.Another of Shahidullah's sons, A.K.M. Bashirullah – known popularly by his aliasMurtaja Baseer – is considered one of the most stylish and foremost painters in Bangladesh.[20]
Shahidullah was made Professor Emeritus by the University of Dhaka (1967) for his lifetime contribution in research on language and literature. He was also awarded theChevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by theFrench government in 1967 for his academic contribution to language and literature.[3] In 1980, theGovernment of Bangladesh awarded him theIndependence Award posthumously.
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