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Language Movement Veteran Ahmed Rafiq Dies at 96

Staff Correspondent: Nation 2025-10-02, 11:51pm

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Photo: Collected



Language Movement veteran Ahmed Rafiq passed away at BIRDEM Hospital in Dhaka on Thursday night. He was 96.

He breathed his last at 10:12 pm after doctors withdrew life support, a cultural activist confirmed. Rafiq had been admitted to the hospital on 11 September.

According to doctors, he had long been suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney failure, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, electrolyte imbalance, bedsores, and lung infections.

Born on 12 September 1929 in Shahbazpur, Brahmanbaria, Rafiq played an active role in the 1952 Language Movement, working closely with students from various campuses. He was the only Dhaka Medical College student to have an arrest warrant issued against him in 1954.

In 1958, he published his first book Shilpo Songskriti Jibon (Art, Culture, and Life). Over the years, he earned widespread recognition, receiving the Ekushey Padak, Bangla Academy Award, and Rabindra Sahitya Award for his significant contributions to literature.