Life and Career
Born Mohammad Shaheedul Haque on 11 September 1953 at 36 Bhuter Goli ( Bhojo Hari Shaha Street) of Narinda in old part of Dhaka city. His father A.K Nural Haque was a govt. officer and his mother Jahanara Begum a housewife. His paternal home was in the village Hashil of Raigonj Upozilla of Sirajgonj district. His grandfather Jahiruddin (it seems Shaheed took the name Jahir from his Grandfather's name) was a teacher of the local NORMAL SCHOOL (During British Period) and his grandmother was Jinnatun Nesa.They both died long before,when his father was a child. His maternal grandparents were Azimuddin Ahmad and Hamida Begum of Amlapara, Sirajgonj Town, where he used to visit frequently on the occasion of summer holidays or EIDs during his childhood along with his family members.These places together with Fulbaria an Satkania, where he grew up, left deep impression in his mind and in the later years featured in many of his short stories and novels.Fictionist Shaheedul Jahir started his school at Silverdale KG School at the then 36 Rankin Street, Dhaka. Later he went to schools of Dhaka, Fulbaria,Mymensingh and Satkania,Chittagong.From Satkania Model High School he passed his SSC Examination . Later he went to the Dhaka College for his pre-university course(HSC). He studied Political Science at the Dhaka University for his Bachelor and Masters degrees. He also went to the American University in Washington DC and Birmingham University. He joined the Bangladesh Civil Service in 1981 as an Assistant Secretary . He was serving as Secretary-in-charge of the Ministry for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs till his sudden death in 2008.
Shaheedul Jahir was a confirmed bachelor and was often questioned on this. In an interview with Kamruzzaman Jahangir, the editor of the literary magazine Katha, he told he was unable to explain this phenomenon : ‘I can tell nothing about this. This has just happened.’ His left behind a family consisted of 4 brothers and 4 sisters. His father died in 1990 and his mother lives with his younger brothers and sisters at his paternal home at Noyatola, Boro Moghbazar, Dhaka, where he used to reside before moving to govt. quarter after joining the Civil Service. He spoke little and appeared to be introvert. It was difficult to make friends with him although he was known to be a very amiable person.
He died from acute myocardial infarction (massive heart attack) on 23 March 2008 at the LabAid Cardiac Hospital in Dhaka. His premature death brought end to a literary personality who was fully comptent and capable and was posied to enrich Bengali literature with his unique prose-style. His death was mourned by the president and prime minister of the country, in addition to the literary circle. He was buried at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard at Mirpur, Dhaka. He left a huge number of literary fans who were impressed by his unique literary approach.
Read more about this topic: Shahidul Zahir
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