Khan Sarwar Murshid

Khan Sarwar Murshid খান সারওয়ার মুরশিদ
Born	(1924-07-01)1 July 1924 Comilla town, Comilla District, East Bengal
Died	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Resting place	Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard, Dhaka
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Education	PhD
Alma mater	University of Dhaka Rajshahi University University of Nottingham Harvard University
Occupation	Educationist, diplomat, educator
Spouse(s)	Nurjahan Beg (m. 1948–2003)
Children	Khan Ahmed Sayeed Murshid Tazeen Mahnaz Murshid Sharmeen Soneya Murshid Khan Ahmed Nuwayid Murshid
Parent(s)	Ali Ahmed Khan, Begum Siddiqua Khanam
Awards	Bangla Academy Award Jahanara Imam Memorial Award Kantha Shilon Award Guard of Honor United Nations Citizen of the Year Award, Bangladesh Chapter

Khan Sarwar Murshid (Bengali: খান সারওয়ার মুরশিদ; 1 July 1924 – 8 December 2012) was a Bangladeshi educationist, diplomat and intellectual.

Education and career

Sarwar Murshid was born in Munsef Bari of Comilla town at the home of his maternal grandparents, and raised largely in Brahmanbaria. His father, Ali Ahmed Khan, who hailed from village Nasirabad, near Nabinagor thana of Comilla district, but now under the jurisdiction of Brahmanbaria district, was a well known advocate and a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly. Murshid was educated at the University of Dhaka and University of Nottingham. From 1948 onward, he was a faculty member of the English Department of Dhaka University, becoming a full professor in 1970. During the 1971 liberation war, he was a member of the planning commission of the Mujibnagar government-in-exile. He served as Vice Chancellor of Rajshahi University during 1972-75. As a diplomat, he served as the Bangladeshi high commissioner to Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, and he was appointed Assistant Secretary General to the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1978. He was the first chairman of the Bangladeshi branch of Transparency International, an anti-corruption body, and was a trustee until his death.

Between 1949 and 1965, Murshid edited a literary journal called New Values. Among his students at Dhaka University were future Bengali intellectuals such as Shamsur Rahman, Abdul Mannan Syed and Zillur Rahman Siddiqui. He was a Fellow of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh and a recipient of the Bangla Academy Award for Research and Essay. He was offered the Ekushey Award in 2010, which he declined. Amongst other distinctions of note that he received was the UN Citizen of the Year Award of the Bangladesh Chapter in 2011.

Personal life

Sarwar Murshid married Nurjahan Beg, also spelt Noor Jehan, the fourth daughter of Ayub Hussain Beg and Bibi Khatimunnissa, from Lalgola, Murshidabad, on 14 August 1948. Murshid's eldest son, Khan Ahmed Sayeed Murshid, is an economist and is the current Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies. He is also the Executive Director of Shabab Murshid Development Foundation (SMDF). Murshid's daughter Tazeen Mahnaz Murshid is a professor of history at BRAC University. Sharmeen Soneya runs a development NGO and Ahmad Nuwayid has joined BRAC University administration.

Death

Murshid died on 8 December 2012 from a heart attack after a massive stroke on 29 November. He was given the guard of honor at Central Shaheed Minar for his contribution to the liberation war of Bangladesh as a freedom-fighter and buried at the Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard.