Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad

Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad
Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad
আবদুল করিম সাহিত্যবিশারদ
Born	c. 1871; Suchakradandi, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Patiya, Chittagong District, Bangladesh)
Died	1953 (aged 81–82); East Bengal, Pakistan
Occupation	Writer
Relatives	Ahmed Sharif (Nephew)

Abdul Karim (1871–1953), known as Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad, was a Bengali littérateur, historian of Bangla literature and collector and interpreter of old Bangla manuscripts.^[1]^[2]

Early life

Karim was born in Suchakradandi village, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Patiya Upazila, Chittagong District, Bangladesh). He passed his Entrance Examination in 1893 from Patiya High School. He served as a teacher in few schools. He later joined the office of the Divisional Commissioner of Chittagong and became Divisional Inspector of schools. He retired from the position in 1934.^[1]

Literary career

Abdul Karim was given title called "Sahitya Bisharod" which means literary expert. He had a special research interest in Muslim contribution to Bengali Literature in the medieval period. He collected puthis (old Bangla manuscripts). The Bangiya Sahitya Parisad published his catalog of Bengali manuscripts titled Bangala Prachin Puthir Bivaran in two volumes in 1920–21. The Department of Bengali of the University of Dhaka published a catalog of the manuscripts preserved in the University Library under the title Puthi Parichiti.^[1]

Karim edited and published eleven old Bengali texts and a book on the history and culture of Chittagong, titled Islamabad. Daulat Qazi, Alaol, Syed Sultan and Muhamad Khan were notable Bengali poets. Karim discovered about a hundred Muslim poets whose names and works were not known before.^[1]

Literary Association of Nadia honored him with the title of Sahitya Sagar and Chattal Dharmamandali Sabha gave him the title of Sahitya Visharad.^[1]

Legacy

The Government of Bangladesh conferred Independence Day Award to Karim posthumously in 1995.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Islam, Sirajul (2012). "Karim, Sahityavisharad Abdul". In Islam, Sirajul; Karim, Abdul (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
^ Khan, Salimullah (10 October 2015). "Abdul Karim's discoveries - Origins of modernity in Bengali literature". The Daily Star. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
^ "Independence Day Award" (PDF). Government of Bangladesh. Retrieved 23 September 2016.