Munier Chowdhury

Munier Choudhury (27 November 1925 – 14 December 1971) was a Bangladeshi educationist, playwright, literary critic and political dissident. He was a victim of the mass killing of Bangladeshi intellectuals in 1971. He was awarded Independence Day Award in 1980, by the then president Ziaur Rahman's government, posthumously. Choudhury's ancestors were originated from Noakhali. He was born on 27 November 1925 in Manikganj. His father was Khan Bahadur Abdul Halim Chowdhury, a district magistrate and Aligarh Muslim University graduate. His mother was Umme Kabir Afia Begum (d. 2000). Because of his father's official assignment, Choudhury lived in Manikganj, Pirojpur and other parts of East Bengal. The family moved to Dhaka permanently in 1936. Then he grew up in the residence Darul Afia, named after her mother, among 14 siblings. He completed his matriculation from Dhaka Collegiate School in 1941 and intermediate examination from Aligarh Muslim University. He then studied English literature for his bachelor's degree (with honours) in 1946 and master's in 1947 at the University of Dhaka. He was expelled from Salimullah Hall, his residential dorm, because of his involvement in leftist politics. He was imprisoned for two years in 1952 for his participation in the Bengali Language Movement. While in jail, in 1954, he appeared at the master's examination in Bengali literature and stood first in the first class. Later, in 1958, he obtained his third master's degree in linguistics from Harvard University. In 1947, Choudhury started his career in teaching at Brajalal College in Khulna. He moved to Jagannath College in Dhaka in 1950. He joined the University of Dhaka in 1950 and taught both in the departments of English and Bengali until 1971. He became reader in 1962 and professor in 1970 and the dean of the faculty of arts in 1971.