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{{Short description|Educationist, philosopher, critic, writer and scholar of medieval Bengali literature}}
{{for|the Bangladeshi actor|Ahmed Sharif (actor)}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = Ahmed Sharif
| image = Ahmed Sharif.jpg
| caption = Sharif in a graduation ceremony
| native_name = আহমদ শরীফ
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1921|2|13|df=y}}<ref name="Junaidul Haque">{{cite news|last=Haque|first=Junaidul|title=The iconoclast in Ahmed Sharif|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=127979|access-date=28 December 2011|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=27 February 2022}}</ref>
| birth_place = Patiya, [[Chittagong]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|2|24|1921|2|13|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh
| nationality = Bangladeshi
| education = Ph.D. in Bengali literature
| alma_mater = [[University of Dhaka]]
| awards = [[#Awards|full list]]
| relatives = [[Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad]] (Uncle)
}}

'''Ahmed Sharif''' (13 February 1921 – 24 February 1999) was an educationist, philosopher, critic, writer and scholar of medieval [[Bengali language|Bengali]] literature.<ref name="Banglapedia" /><ref name=":1" /> He is recognized as one of the most outspoken [[atheist]] and radical thinkers of Bangladesh.<ref name="Banglapedia" />

== Background ==
Sharif was born on 13 February 1921 in [[Patiya]], [[Chittagong District]]. His father was Abdul Aziz and his uncle was [[Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad]], a prominent historian of Bangla literature. He did his master's and Ph.D. degrees in Bengali literature from the University of Dhaka, in 1944 and 1967 respectively.<ref name="Banglapedia">{{cite web |last1=Kabir |first1=Ahmed |title=Sharif, Ahmed |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sharif,_Ahmed |website=Banglapedia |publisher=Bangladesh Asiatic Society |access-date=19 January 2022}}</ref> From 1945 to 1949, he taught at Laksham Nawab Faizunnessa College and later on at Feni College. From July 1949 to 17 December 1950 he worked as programme assistant at the Dhaka station of [[Radio Pakistan]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} Finally, on 18 December 1950, he joined as research assistant in the Bengali Department, University of Dhaka and retired as chairman and professor in 1983.<ref name="Banglapedia" />

During his time at the [[University of Dhaka]] he was elected a member of the Senate, Syndicate, and the president of the Teachers Association and the University Teachers Club. Sharif remained the only person who was elected the dean of the Faculty of Arts for three consecutive terms.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} After his retirement from the Dhaka University, he was offered to join as first "Kazi Nazrul Islam Professor" at the [[University of Chittagong]], where he served from 1984 to 1986.<ref name="Banglapedia" />

He was an active member<ref name="Banglapedia" /> of the [[Committee for Civil Liberties and Legal Aid]], which was established in March 1974 to protect opposition politicians and members of civil society whose civil liberties were being violated by the Awami League government.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Moudud |year=2015 |orig-year=First published 1983 |title=Bangladesh, Era of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |location=Dhaka |publisher=University Press |page=222 |isbn=978-984-506-226-8}}</ref> He and Lt. Colonel [[Kazi Nuruzzaman]] led the Muktijuddha Chetana Bikash Kendra (Centre for the Development of the Spirit of the Liberation War), a group of left-leaning intellectuals who spoke out against the dictatorship of [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Hashmi |first=Taj I. |editor1-last=Limaye |editor1-first=Satu P. |editor2-last=Wirsing |editor2-first=Robert G. |editor3-last=Malik |editor3-first=Mohan |year=2004 |chapter=Islamic Resurgence in Bangladesh: Genesis, Dynamics and Implications |title=Religious Radicalism and Security in South Asia |location=Honolulu |publisher=Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies |page=51 |isbn=0-9719416-6-1}}</ref>

== Views ==
Sharif taught about [[medieval Bengali literature]] and regularly gave insights into the history of [[Bengal]], the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]] and [[Rabindranath Tagore]].<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=http://www.bangladesh-web.com/view.php?hidRecord=44486 |title=An interview with prof. Ahmed sharif |website=News from Bangladesh |publisher=Daily News Monitoring Service |last1=Mukhopadhay |first1=Keshob |access-date=14 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204080757/http://www.bangladesh-web.com/view.php?hidRecord=44486 |archive-date=4 February 2022}}</ref>

==Awards==
* [[Bangla Academy Literary Award]] (1968)
* Dawood Prize for Literature
* [[Ekushey Padak]] (1991)

== Death ==
Sharif died on 24 February 1999, in Dhaka.

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharif, Ahmed}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Chittagong]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi male writers]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi secularists]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi atheists]]
[[Category:Chittagong College alumni]]
[[Category:University of Dhaka faculty]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Ekushey Padak]]
[[Category:Recipients of Bangla Academy Award]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi former Muslims]]
[[Category:Writers from Chittagong]]
[[Category:University of Dhaka alumni]]

{{Bangladesh-bio-stub}}

Ahmed Sharif - Revision history

Bot at 03:25, 19 December 2022