Language movement veteran, physician, and researcher Ahmad Rafique has passed away (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un). He breathed his last on Thursday at 10:12 p.m. while undergoing treatment in the ICU of BIRDEM Hospital in Dhaka.
He had been admitted to the hospital since September 28. On Wednesday, he was placed on life support, and on Thursday night, he suffered cardiac arrest and passed away. The news was confirmed to the media by Brac University teacher Ismail Sadi.
Born on September 12, 1929, in Brahmanbaria, Ahmad Rafique was a physician by profession but dedicated his life to the study of Rabindranath Tagore. As the founding president of the Rabindra Research Trust, he earned numerous accolades, including the Bangla Academy Award, the Ekushey Padak, and the title of “Rabindra Tattwacharya” (Scholar of Rabindra Philosophy) from Kolkata’s Tagore Research Institute.
Having lost his wife in 2006, Rafique was childless. Over his lifetime, he authored and edited more than a hundred books spanning poetry, essays, research, and the history of the language movement.
His eyesight began to deteriorate in 2019 despite surgery, and by 2023, he had become almost completely blind.
For his lifelong contributions to the nation, literature, and culture, Ahmad Rafique will be remembered with deep respect and reverence.