Sadeq Khan's passing marks the end of an era

Sadeq Khan's greatest contribution was to confront communalism and fundamentalism at the time of establishment of Pakistan on the basis of religion

The news of the death of Sadeq Khan did not get much prominence in the country's newspapers. Last Monday, 16th May he died in Dhaka suddenly. He lost his consciousness when he went to the bathroom. He was brought to the United Hospital but did not survive. At the time of his death he was over 80 but had a healthy life style. It was said in the news coverage that he was a columnist in his later life and a pro-BNP intellectual. He also tried to establish a political party 'Gono Shakti Dal' which did not attract much public attention.
I last met him in December last year at the lounge of the Sonargaon hotel. He was sitting there with a pen and lots of paper and was drinking coffee. We have known each other for the last 68 years. Though we were both poles apart in our political opinions that did not affect our friendship. When he saw me he welcomed me to his table and offered me a cup of coffee and asked my purpose for visiting Dhaka. I told him that I am trying to make a documentary on Sheikh Hasina.
He asked me why I am not taking him in my unit as he was an expert in film making. I politely answered, "Sadeq Bhai you belong to a totally opposite political camp."
His death was not treated as a big news in Dhaka because he detached himself from his past glorious life when he became almost a legendary figure in our cultural and political life. It may be an irony of fate that a great young Left intellectual of the 50s turned into a rightist columnist in his later life and lost his charisma. Otherwise if Sadeq Khan died in the 50s or the 60s of the last century the news could get utmost prominence in the media. I still think that though he might be ignored today, one day he will be remembered in our history as the pioneer of the movement for changing the outlook of the newly formed Bengali Muslim middle class and to inspire them to break the barrier of communalism. In the 50s he was an icon for us who inspired his own generation towards ideals of non-communalism and socialism.
In 1948 I was a school student in Barisal town. Sadeq Khan was also a student of Barisal Zilla School and was 2 to 3 years older than me. Barisal was then a strong centre of Left politics and the communist party was very powerful then. Almost every evening students of different schools who were prone to Left politics used to assemble at the river bank of Kirtonkhola and Sadeq Khan was a mentor of that assembly. He was a very bright student and in those days was a leading character among those students for his progressive thinking. Though I was his junior at school, we came very close in political thinking. I used to write poems in the old style. He introduced me to the modern poems of the 30's, especially to his favourite poet Jibanananda Das. Under his influence I also became a great fan of Jibanananda.
He was my political mentor also. From my school days I was associated with Left-oriented student politics but Sadeq Khan became a humanist, the disciple of M N Roy. Through him I learned about M N Roy and his humanism. Though he was a Royist in his school life and had connections with Royist intellectuals like Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta in Dhaka and Bashuda Chokroborty in Kolkata, he had a deep association with the students of Communist Party in Barisal. He was also a leading figure in progressive cultural movement in Barisal and was always in confrontation with the other communal cultural groups which were patronized by the ruling Muslim League government.  
After passing school-final (matric) examination Sadeq Khan came to Dhaka and took admission in Dhaka College. Two years later I also came to Dhaka and took admission in the same college. It was 1950 and a transitional period for communist movement in the-then East Pakistan. Communist Party under B T Ranadive took a confrontational line against the government of India and Pakistan and both government banned the communist party. In the-then East Pakistan the Communist Party went underground.
I was surprised to know that Sadeq Khan joined the Communist Party and to avoid arrest joined the underground movement. His father Abdul Jabbar Khan was a leading member of the judicial service and was embarrassed by his son's activities. Though I did not belong to the Communist Party or its underground branch I was entrusted with the duty to meet Sadeq Khan in his hiding place and carry his food from the house of a well-wisher. He was haunted by police because he was actively leading the student forum of the Communist Party and its cultural front. The Left-oriented young cultural front was very strong at that time in Dhaka and the most influential young writers of that time like Alauddin-al-Azad, Abdullah-al-Muti and Hasan Hafizur Rahman were at the fore-front of that movement. All of them adored Sadeq Khan and he sometimes gave them guidelines for their activities.
During this underground life Sadeq Khan became ill and was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). He was under treatment and for his illness he had to disassociate himself from active political life. He was living in a house in Laxmibazar and I was living in a nearby house in Koltabazar. So we became very close again. After his recovery from illness he joined the Daily Sangbad as an Associate editor. Immediately his writings became very popular. His famous editorial on the marriage of Mohammad Ali of Bogra, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan with his Lebanese secretary Alia Sadi was appreciated throughout the country and its Urdu and English versions were published in West Pakistan.
Sadeq Khan was a versatile genius. Very soon he joined the budding film industry of the-then East Pakistan, played the role of the hero in a film titled Dur Hai Sukh Ki Gaon and he himself produced a film titled Nodi O Nari based on the novel of Humayun Kabir. Sadeq Khan was a pioneer in the film making industry along with Zahir Raihan and others. He also revolutionized the architectural landscape of Dhaka by the help of famous sculptors like Nitin Kundu and others.
Sadeq Khan's greatest contribution was to confront communalism and fundamentalism at the time of establishment of Pakistan on the basis of religion. He influenced the newly risen young section of the Muslim middle class towards the ideals of secularism and socialism. It tremendously helped the future movement for secular Bengali nationalism. In the 60s he was a supporter of the National Awami Party led by Maulana Bhashani. But he supported Sheikh Mujib's six-point and went to India to support the war of liberation.
It must be a strange twist in his psyche that a man of such strong Left-leaning gradually became a supporter of a party like BNP. Even in his recent TV talks, some observers commented, that his comments were passively supporting Jamaat. In my opinion it was a great tragedy of a legendary figure of the 50s great era.
Sadeq Khan came from an illustrious family. His younger brothers Abu Zafar Obaidullah was a famous poet. Enayetullah Khan was an editor and Rashed Khan Menon is a leader of a left-party and a minister of the present Hasina government. Once I thought I will write a novel on Sadeq Khan's life. It represents the quick rise of the middle class of Bangladesh with all its virtues and vices. I failed to write this novel, but someone in future can write an epic novel on Sadeq Khan's meteoric rise and fall like John Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga. His family is one of the few great families in Bangladesh which represents the rise of a urban middle class with an agrarian background. Sadeq Khan's life combines all its contradictions.

London, Friday 20 May 2016

Sadeq Khans passing marks the end of an era

Sadeq Khans greatest contribution was to confront communalism and fundamentalism at the time of establishment of Pakistan on the basis of religion

The news of the death of Sadeq Khan did not get much prominence in the countrys newspapers. Last Monday, 16th May he died in Dhaka suddenly. He lost his consciousness when he went to the bathroom. He was brought to the United Hospital but did not survive. At the time of his death he was over 80 but had a healthy life style. It was said in the news coverage that he was a columnist in his later life and a pro-BNP intellectual. He also tried to establish a political party Gono Shakti Dal which did not attract much public attention. I last met him in December last year at the lounge of the Sonargaon hotel. He was sitting there with a pen and lots of paper and was drinking coffee. We have known each other for the last 68 years. Though we were both poles apart in our political opinions that did not affect our friendship. When he saw me he welcomed me to his table and offered me a cup of coffee and asked my purpose for visiting Dhaka. I told him that I am trying to make a documentary on Sheikh Hasina. He asked me why I am not taking him in my unit as he was an expert in film making. I politely answered, Sadeq Bhai you belong to a totally opposite political camp. His death was not treated as a big news in Dhaka because he detached himself from his past glorious life when he became almost a legendary figure in our cultural and political life. It may be an irony of fate that a great young Left intellectual of the 50s turned into a rightist columnist in his later life and lost his charisma. Otherwise if Sadeq Khan died in the 50s or the 60s of the last century the news could get utmost prominence in the media. I still think that though he might be ignored today, one day he will be remembered in our history as the pioneer of the movement for changing the outlook of the newly formed Bengali Muslim middle class and to inspire them to break the barrier of communalism. In the 50s he was an icon for us who inspired his own generation towards ideals of non-communalism and socialism. In 1948 I was a school student in Barisal town. Sadeq Khan was also a student of Barisal Zilla School and was 2 to 3 years older than me. Barisal was then a strong centre of Left politics and the communist party was very powerful then. Almost every evening students of different schools who were prone to Left politics used to assemble at the river bank of Kirtonkhola and Sadeq Khan was a mentor of that assembly. He was a very bright student and in those days was a leading character among those students for his progressive thinking. Though I was his junior at school, we came very close in political thinking. I used to write poems in the old style. He introduced me to the modern poems of the 30s, especially to his favourite poet Jibanananda Das. Under his influence I also became a great fan of Jibanananda. He was my political mentor also. From my school days I was associated with Left-oriented student politics but Sadeq Khan became a humanist, the disciple of M N Roy. Through him I learned about M N Roy and his humanism. Though he was a Royist in his school life and had connections with Royist intellectuals like Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta in Dhaka and Bashuda Chokroborty in Kolkata, he had a deep association with the students of Communist Party in Barisal. He was also a leading figure in progressive cultural movement in Barisal and was always in confrontation with the other communal cultural groups which were patronized by the ruling Muslim League government. After passing school-final (matric) examination Sadeq Khan came to Dhaka and took admission in Dhaka College. Two years later I also came to Dhaka and took admission in the same college. It was 1950 and a transitional period for communist movement in the-then East Pakistan. Communist Party under B T Ranadive took a confrontational line against the government of India and Pakistan and both government banned the communist party. In the-then East Pakistan the Communist Party went underground. I was surprised to know that Sadeq Khan joined the Communist Party and to avoid arrest joined the underground movement. His father Abdul Jabbar Khan was a leading member of the judicial service and was embarrassed by his sons activities. Though I did not belong to the Communist Party or its underground branch I was entrusted with the duty to meet Sadeq Khan in his hiding place and carry his food from the house of a well-wisher. He was haunted by police because he was actively leading the student forum of the Communist Party and its cultural front. The Left-oriented young cultural front was very strong at that time in Dhaka and the most influential young writers of that time like Alauddin-al-Azad, Abdullah-al-Muti and Hasan Hafizur Rahman were at the fore-front of that movement. All of them adored Sadeq Khan and he sometimes gave them guidelines for their activities. During this underground life Sadeq Khan became ill and was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). He was under treatment and for his illness he had to disassociate himself from active political life. He was living in a house in Laxmibazar and I was living in a nearby house in Koltabazar. So we became very close again. After his recovery from illness he joined the Daily Sangbad as an Associate editor. Immediately his writings became very popular. His famous editorial on the marriage of Mohammad Ali of Bogra, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan with his Lebanese secretary Alia Sadi was appreciated throughout the country and its Urdu and English versions were published in West Pakistan. Sadeq Khan was a versatile genius. Very soon he joined the budding film industry of the-then East Pakistan, played the role of the hero in a film titled Dur Hai Sukh Ki Gaon and he himself produced a film titled Nodi O Nari based on the novel of Humayun Kabir. Sadeq Khan was a pioneer in the film making industry along with Zahir Raihan and others. He also revolutionized the architectural landscape of Dhaka by the help of famous sculptors like Nitin Kundu and others. Sadeq Khans greatest contribution was to confront communalism and fundamentalism at the time of establishment of Pakistan on the basis of religion. He influenced the newly risen young section of the Muslim middle class towards the ideals of secularism and socialism. It tremendously helped the future movement for secular Bengali nationalism. In the 60s he was a supporter of the National Awami Party led by Maulana Bhashani. But he supported Sheikh Mujibs six-point and went to India to support the war of liberation. It must be a strange twist in his psyche that a man of such strong Left-leaning gradually became a supporter of a party like BNP. Even in his recent TV talks, some observers commented, that his comments were passively supporting Jamaat. In my opinion it was a great tragedy of a legendary figure of the 50s great era. Sadeq Khan came from an illustrious family. His younger brothers Abu Zafar Obaidullah was a famous poet. Enayetullah Khan was an editor and Rashed Khan Menon is a leader of a left-party and a minister of the present Hasina government. Once I thought I will write a novel on Sadeq Khans life. It represents the quick rise of the middle class of Bangladesh with all its virtues and vices. I failed to write this novel, but someone in future can write an epic novel on Sadeq Khans meteoric rise and fall like John Galsworthys Forsyte Saga. His family is one of the few great families in Bangladesh which represents the rise of a urban middle class with an agrarian background. Sadeq Khans life combines all its contradictions. London, Friday 20 May 2016