Munier Choudhury’s Followers (53)

Munier Choudhury

Born

in Manikganj, Dhaka, Bangladesh

November 25, 1925

Died

December 14, 1971

Genre

Theatre, Fiction, Nonfiction

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Munier Chowdhury (Bangla: মুনীর চৌধুরী), born in 1925 at Manikganj, Dhaka, hailed from Noakhali, was a Bangladeshi educationist, playwright, literary critic and political dissident. He's the brother of Kabir Chowdhury.

Munier studied English literature for his Bachelors degree (with honors, 1946) and Masters (1947) at the Dhaka University. In 1954, he completed a second Masters degree, summa cum laude, in Bengali. In 1958, he obtained another Masters in Linguistics from Harvard University. He joined the Dhaka University in 1950 and taught both in English and Bengali language departments between 1950 and 1971. Students flocked to his class, many from other departments, as he lectured in his inimitable fashion on Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Bankim Munier Chowdhury (Bangla: মুনীর চৌধুরী), born in 1925 at Manikganj, Dhaka, hailed from Noakhali, was a Bangladeshi educationist, playwright, literary critic and political dissident. He's the brother of Kabir Chowdhury.

Munier studied English literature for his Bachelors degree (with honors, 1946) and Masters (1947) at the Dhaka University. In 1954, he completed a second Masters degree, summa cum laude, in Bengali. In 1958, he obtained another Masters in Linguistics from Harvard University. He joined the Dhaka University in 1950 and taught both in English and Bengali language departments between 1950 and 1971. Students flocked to his class, many from other departments, as he lectured in his inimitable fashion on Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Bankim Chandra and Rabindranath, among others. To this day he is fondly remembered as an extraordinary teacher who was able to kindle in his students a genuine love for great literature. He was honored with Bangla Academy Award in 1962.

Munier Chowdhury actively participated in the Language Movement of 1952, and was imprisoned by the Pakistan government. He wrote his famous symbolic drama, Kabar (The Grave) in Bengali during his imprisonment. 'Kabar' is a shadow of Irwin Shaw's 'Bury the Dead'. He also fought against any type of cultural repression during the late 1950s and 1960s. In 1967, he protested the Pakistan government's ban on Tagore songs on radio and television. In the late 1960s there was a movement in Pakistan to replace the Bengali language alphabet with the Arabic alphabet. As a linguist and writer, Munier Chowdhury protested this move to undermine the native language of East Pakistan. He actively participated in the non-cooperation movement during the early part of 1971 and renounced his award Sitara-e-Imtiaz (awarded by Pakistan Govt in 1966).

After the Pakistani army crackdown in 1971 in the Dhaka University area from which Munier Chowdhury luckily escaped like many, he moved to his parents' house but he couldn't mentally adjust to the idea of fleeing from his beloved motherland. He preferred to stay back and surrendered to his 'fate'.

On 14 December, 1971 Munier Chowdhury, along with a large number of Bengali intellectuals, educators, doctors and engineers, was kidnapped, later tortured and executed by the Pakistan Army and its Bengali collaborators Al-Badr, Al-Shams, only 2 days before the end of the Liberation War. His dead body could not be identified. A witness who survived the killing had narrated how he recognized Munier as he screamed while his fingers were chopped off. "Have mercy" that is all Munier had said. As this was being done the butcher said, "write your famous essays on Rabindranath Tagore." That was the last that anyone saw of him. ...more

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Munier Choudhury’s books

Average rating: 4.2 · 2,953 ratings · 81 reviews · 12 distinct works • Similar authors

	কবর 4.28 avg rating — 1,794 ratings — published 1966	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	রক্তাক্ত প্রান্তর 4.09 avg rating — 1,064 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	চিঠি by Munier Choudhury, Shams Al-Din (Editor) 3.57 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 2014	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	একটি তালাকের কাহিনি ও অন্যান্য গল্প really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2023	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	পলাশী ব্যারাক ও অন্যান্য 3.75 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 1969	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	দিনপঞ্জি-মনপঞ্জি-ডাকঘর by Munier Choudhury, লিলি চৌধুরী 3.57 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	দন্ডকারণ্য 4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	মুনীর চৌধুরী রচনাসমগ্র ২ by Munier Choudhury, Anisuzzaman (Editor) 4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	মুনীর চৌধুরী রচনাসমগ্র ১ by Munier Choudhury, Anisuzzaman (Editor) 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	মুনীর চৌধুরীর দুষ্প্রাপ্য রচনা by Munier Choudhury, Serajul Islam Choudhury (Preface), কাজী জাহিদুল হক (Editor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Munier Choudhury (?)

“মানুষ মরে গেলে পচে যায়, বেঁচে থাকলে বদলায়, কারণে-অকারণে বদলায়”
― Munier Choudhury

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“আপা বলেছে, কাঁদলে মানুষ বোকা হয়ে যায়। না বুঝলেই কান্না পায়। বুঝলে চোখের পানি নাকি শুকিয়ে যায়। চোখের ভেতর আগুন জ্বলে ওঠে, দাউ দাউ করে।”
― Munier Choudhury, কবর

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