Staff Correspondent:

Language Movement activist, veteran journalist, and teacher Abdul Gafur has died while undergoing treatment at a private hospital. He was 95 years old.

His son, Tarik Al Banna said: “My father died at the Asgar Ali Hospital in Dhaka’s Shamibag at 2:43pm.”

Gafur had been admitted to the hospital with heart problems on Thursday.

The family says the funeral prayers will be held at the Jatiya Press Club mosque at 8pm before he is buried at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard in Mirpur.

Gafur leaves behind three sons and three daughters.

As a member of Tamaddin Majlish, Gafur joined the Language Movement to demand that Bangla be recognised as a state language of then West Pakistan on Feb 21, 1952. During the movement, he was the editor of the ‘Sainik’ newspaper.

After completing his postgraduate degree from Dhaka University in 1962, he worked in the public service for a time. He then taught at Dhaka’s Abuddhar Ghifari College and Faridpur’s Government Rajendra College for 17 years.

He has also served as the director of publications at the Islamic Foundation and superintendent of Darul Ulam.

Gafur also worked as a journalist at numerous outlets such as Dainik Millat, Dainik Azad, Dainik Desh, Daily Inqilab, the English daily People, and the Dainik Nazat.

Several organisations, including the Federal Journalists Union, the Dhaka Reporters Union, the Dhaka-based Rajbari District Journalists Association, have expressed their condolences following his death.