The man who dared to publish the first Language Movement poem

Engineer Abdul Khalek, a prominent journalist and the founder editor of the historic newspaper Azadi, was a progressive minded cultural elite among his contemporary conservative Muslim community. With the aim to connect Bengali Muslim society with the world, he left engineering and joined the publishing industry.

Defying the red eye of the tyrant and their intimidation, he published the historic poem "Kadte Ashini, Fashir Dabi Niye Eshechi" (loosely translated – Haven't come to mourn, rather to demand for justice) by Mahbub-ul-Alam Chowdhury from the Kohinoor Electric Press that he established.  

No one agreed to publish the fiery poem fearing backlash from the then government of Nurul Amin. But, Engineer Abdul Khalek found the courage in his heart to risk his life and publish the poem as he had profound respect for the mother tongue.

Deciding to print the poem was a tough choice indeed, but the challenge was not yet over as they had to do it in secrecy. As planned, Abdul Khalek with his team worked in the press secretly all night and in the morning a 17-page booklet was printed with the title "Kadte Ashini, Fashir Dabi Niye Eshechi".

It was winter and the night was both cold and a long one as police raided the press at a time when the composing and proofreading was almost over. Khandaker Mohammad Ilias, another Language Movement hero, who was working with the team quickly hid. The press staffers efficiently concealed the entire composition matter in such a way that the police could not find any trace to suspect anything. After the police left, the printing work resumed in full swing again. The printing and binding work for the sale and distribution of about 15,000 copies of the booklet was secretly completed through the untiring efforts of the Kohinoor Electric Press staff. The price of the booklet was two aana (12.5 paisa).

Chowdhury Harunur Rashid, another Language Movement hero, recited the poem in public for the first time on 23 February at the Laldighi Maidan. Hearing the poem, the crowd were fired up and started shouting slogans at the top of their lungs. It became clear how powerful the lines of the poem were as the Pakistani government confiscated all copies of the poem before banning it. Arrest warrants were issued against poet Mahbub-ul-Alam Chowdhury, Chowdhury Harunur Rashid and publisher Kamal Uddin Ahmed. Chowdhury Harunur Rashid and Press Manager Dabir Ahmad Chowdhury were arrested soon after the Laldighi Maidan rally.

Engineer Abdul Khalek was born on 20 July 1896 in Sultanpur village of Chattogram's Raozan upazila. He was admitted to Raozan Station Primary School at the age of five. Abdul Khalek's talent was recognised early when he got scholarships in the second and fifth grades. He was later admitted to Raozan RRAC Institution and he passed the entrance examination from there in 1912. In 1914, he passed intermediate (now HSC) from the Chittagong College.

Later he was admitted in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Shibpur Engineering College. At the beginning of his career he took a job as an engineer in Chittagong Electric Supply Company in 1920. Although an engineer by profession, he had a deep passion for literature and culture. In addition to the infrastructural development of Chittagong in his professional life, he established the Kohinoor Library. He resigned shortly after the library was established in 1929. The following year he founded the Kohinoor Electric Press, which started a revolution in the world of publishing in Chattogram. A number of creative magazines and various literary collections were printed from this press.

It was the Kohinoor Press that first published Dainik Azadi on 5 September 1960. The sheer dedication and tireless work Abdul Khalek put into publishing the newspaper underscores his integrity as a journalist. He was religious, but conservatism did not overwhelm him. He believed in communal harmony and to him the dignity of human life was above everything else. Engineer Abdul Khalek breathed his last on 25 September 1962.

A TBS-Nagad initiative.