Amidst the looming threat of the COVID-19, Bangladesh has lost some of its greatest minds in the past year. Among them were three individuals who were in active roles at the Bangla Academy, an organisation that, since its inception on the tailwind of the 1952 Language Movement, has been upholding the national identity and intellectual development of Bangalis.

When the country was still mourning the losses of Professor Anisuzzaman and Professor Shamsuzzaman to the coronavirus, Ahmad Momtaz, writer, researcher, and Assistant Director at Bangla Academy, also passed away on May 9, 2021. And on May 24, cancer took away eminent poet and Bangla Academy Director General, Habibullah Siraji.

According to Bangla Academy, Siraji took charge of the organisation on December 20, 2016. Before him, Shamsuzzaman Khan had served as Director General from May 24, 2009 to December 19, 2017, and taken over as President on June 29, 2020. Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman had served as president from December 13, 2012. All three of them passed away in the month of May, a year apart.

"Bangla Academy has suffered irreparable damage. It is doubtful whether we will ever have people of such calibre again. They had the merits needed to run the academy. Now I don't know who will take their place", said the current Acting President, Professor Rafiqul Islam. "I wish them eternal peace and hope that qualified and deserving people take over Bangla Academy".

Habibullah Siraji

Habibullah Siraji was born on December 31, 1948 in Rasulpur, Faridpur, completing his higher secondary studies at Faridpur Rajendra College and acquiring his bachelor's degree in Engineering at BUET.

Although mainly a poet, Siraji's simple prose—manifested through essays, autobiographical works, and translations—incorporated elements from folk culture and international literature.

Among his published books are Dao Brikkho Dao Din, Nona Jole Buno Shongshar, Poshak Bodoler Pala,  Poshchimer Guptochor, Kobiraj Building Er Chhad, and many others.

"You were born in the post-World War II era, you saw the war of 1971. Now that we are going through a pandemic, how optimistic are you?" Siraji was recently asked in an online interview.

To this he had replied, "In a war, we at least know who our opponent is and what we have to do to defend ourselves. But the pandemic that has devastated us, entering our families, is hard to fathom. We don't know where these deaths and their consequences will end. No one really knows!"

Shamsuzzaman Khan

Shamsuzzaman Khan was born on December 29, 1940 in Charigram of Manikganj district. His childhood and adolescent education were developed under the supervision of his mother and grandmother. His Father MR Khan was a well-known translator in Calcutta, and his great-grandfather, Elhadad Khan, and his brother Adalat Khan, had been prominent intellectuals during the colonial rule. Elhadad Khan was a friend of the litterateur Mir Mosharraf Hossain.

Shamsuzzaman Khan's career began with teaching at the end of his studies at Dhaka University, where he developed a practice of writing under the mentorship of teachers and friends. He then taught at Munshiganj Horganga College, Dhaka Jagannath College, Mymensingh Agricultural University, and National University. He later served as the Director General of the Bangladesh National Museum and the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

A folk art researcher, the books authored and edited by Shamsuzzaman would number more than a hundred. Notable among these are Folklore Charcha, Bangabandhur Rashtrochinta o Bortoman Bangladesh, and Mir Mosharraf Hossain: New Information.

He introduced Lalon, Madhusudan Dutt, Vidyasagar, Rabindranath Tagore, Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Jibanananda Das,, and other notable personalities of the culture in a completely new way.

He also edited a 64-volume series on the folk culture of 64 districts, as well as a 114-volume collection of Bangladeshi folklore.

Anisuzzaman

National Poet Anisuzzaman was born Abu Taiab Mohammad Anisuzzaman on February 18, 1937 in West Bengal's 24 Parganas district. He migrated with his family after the partition. His father ATM Moazzem was a homeopathy practitioner, and mother Syeda Khatun, who wrote herself. Anisuzzaman's grandfather, Sheikh Abdur Rahim, one of the greatest personalities of the Bangali Muslim society, had been one of the first individuals to write the biography of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Bangla.

Upon completing PhD on "Bangla Literature and the Muslim Mind" at the young age of  25, Anisuzzaman dedicated his dissertation to another Gyantapas, Dr Muhammad Shahidullah. This alone was enough to earn him a permanent place in the research world of Bangla literature. He went on to author many other books, including Purono Bangla Goddo, Swarup Shondhan, Bipula Prithibi, etc., and became among the country's top thinkers through his continued research work on the psychoanalytic nature of Bangali Muslims. From the language movement to the fight for freedom, he participated and led the struggle of the Bangalis to attain solutions to social crises.

COVID-19 has taken away the lives of two other Bangla Academy figures, Ashraf Siddiqui and Manzoor Maula. After independence, Dr Ashraf Siddiqui served as the Director General of the Bangla Academy for about six years alongside his work as a well-known folklorist, novelist, and writer of children's literature. Poet Manzoor Maula served as the director general for about three years in the 1980s. The history of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair is associated with their names.

Along with their contribution to the infrastructural development of Bangla Academy these notable personalities helped expand the scope of research at the organisation. The legacy they leave behind will be difficult to match.

Emran Mahfuz is a poet and researcher.

Nahaly Nafisa Khan is sub editor of Toggle, The Daily Star.