Writer, activist Badruddin Umar passes away
Writer, activist, intellectual, and leftist politician Badruddin Umar passed away today (7 September) at the age of 94.
He breathed his last on the way to Bangladesh Specialised Hospital, Fayzul Hakim, general secretary of the Jatiya Mukti Council, said.
Fayzul said that Umar had been ill for about a month and had to be taken to the hospital multiple times. When his condition deteriorated again this morning, he was rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared him dead upon arrival.
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Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus expressed deep sorrow at the death of Umar. In a condolence message on Facebook, the chief adviser said Badruddin Umar was "a bright lighthouse of our struggle for free thought and progress."
He highlighted Umar's active role in the 1952 Language Movement, his research, and his strong protest against colonial mentality, stating that his unwavering dedication to socialist philosophy has enriched Bangladesh's intellectual history.
Umar began his career as a part-time lecturer at Dhaka University before founding the Department of Sociology at Rajshahi University.
Umar was president of the Bangladesh Krishok Federation and served as central coordinator of the Gonotantrik Biplobi Jote.
A long-time Marxist thinker, he was once a member of the central committee of the Purba Banglar Communist Party.
In 2003, Umar established the Jatiya Mukti Council, where he served as president until his death.
Condolences
Umar's death drew condolences from across the political, academic, and civil society spheres.
Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, Bangla Academy Director General Prof Mohammad Azam, Press Institute Bangladesh Director General Faruk Wasif, economist and writer Anu Muhammad and academic and writer Azfar Hussain expressed their condolences.
ICT may accept Umar's testimony as evidence
Umar had given a statement to the investigating officer in a crime against humanity case against the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and two others.
"Badruddin Umar was an important witness. Although he never appeared before the tribunal to give testimony, he had provided a statement to the investigating officer," International Crimes Tribunal Prosecutor Gazi Monawar Hossain Tamim told reporters today.
He explained that under the ICT Act, if a witness dies after giving a statement to investigators, the tribunal may accept that testimony upon the prosecution's application.
The case names Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun as accused, Monawar said, adding that so far, 36 witnesses have testified in the case.
