Renowned educationist, fiction writer, and essayist Syed Manzoorul Islam has passed away (Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilayhi Raji’un). He breathed his last at around 5 p.m. on Friday (October 10) while undergoing treatment at LabAid Hospital in the capital.
The news of his passing was confirmed by Majharul Islam, Chief Executive of the publishing house Anyaprakash.
On October 3, Syed Manzoorul Islam was admitted to LabAid Hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest. Doctors later inserted two stents in his heart. On the evening of October 5, his condition deteriorated, and he was placed on life support. Although his condition slightly improved after 48 hours, it worsened again, and doctors finally declared him dead at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam, Emeritus Professor of the Department of English at the University of Dhaka, was a towering figure in Bangladesh’s literary and academic circles. Through his short stories, novels, essays, and literary criticism, he made significant contributions to Bangla literature.
His body will be kept at the BIRDEM mortuary on Friday night. On Saturday at 11 a.m., it will be taken to the Central Shaheed Minar for the public to pay their last respects. Following the Zuhr prayers, his funeral will be held at the Central Mosque of Dhaka University, after which he is likely to be buried at the Mirpur Intellectuals’ Graveyard.