Abul Khair Nazmul Karim (1 August 1922 – 18 November 1982) was a Bangladeshi sociologist and academic. He was posthumously awarded

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak () is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of martyrs of the Bengali language movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including culture, education, and e ...

for his contribution to education by the

government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

in 2012.

Personal life

Karim was born in the Noakhali/Comilla area, now known as Lakshmipur. His parental residence was at Falgoonkora village in the

Comilla District Comilla District, officially known as Cumilla District, () is a district located in southeastern Bangladesh. It lies about southeast of Dhaka. Comilla is bordered by Brahmanbaria District, Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj District, Narayanganj dis ...

. He was the seventh of eight children of Abu Rashid Nizamuddin Mahmood Ahmed and Mossammat Shamsun Neda Khatun. He came from an educated family of school inspectors, private tutors, diwans, and magistrates. His mother came from a

zamindari A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous Indian feudalism, feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian language, Persian was the offi ...

family. Karim was married to Syeda Jahanara Begum, former principal of

Begum Badrunnesa Government Girls' College Begum Badrunnesa Govt. Girls' College (BBGGC) is a public educational institution in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The college was incorporated in 1948 as an intermediate college under Eden Girls' College. In 1962 Eden College gained a second campus at Az ...

. They had three daughters - Yasmin Hagen, Nasreen Karim and Lamia Karim. Lamia became a professor and the head of the Department of Anthropology at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. Karim died on 18 November 1982 from complications brought on by

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

Education

Karim passed his Entrance examination in 1939 in First Division from Thakurgaon High, English School. Later in 1941, he passed IA (Intermediate in Arts) Examination again in First Division from

Dhaka College Dhaka College (), informally known as DC, is a public educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent. It offers Honours degree, honours and Master's degree ...

. Karim graduated from

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

in 1944 with a B.A. (Hons), and an M.A. in 1946 with distinction in political science. He won the East Pakistan State Scholarship, which enabled him to go to the United States for higher studies. He studied simultaneously "Government" and "Sociology", and earned a master's degree separately in both disciplines from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1953. He studied under

Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse ( ; ; July 19, 1898 – July 29, 1979) was a German–American philosopher, social critic, and Political philosophy, political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Born in Berlin, Marcuse studied at ...

Seymour Lipset Seymour Martin Lipset ( ; March 18, 1922 – December 31, 2006) was an American sociologist and political scientist. His major work was in the fields of political sociology, trade union organization, social stratification, public opinion, and t ...

, Ajit Kumar Sen,

Robert Morrison MacIver Robert Morrison MacIver (April 17, 1882 – June 15, 1970) was a sociologist and political scientist. Early life and family Robert Morrison MacIver was born in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland on April 17, 1882, to Donald MacIver, a general ...

C. Wright Mills Charles Wright Mills (August 28, 1916 – March 20, 1962) was an American Sociology, sociologist, and a professor of sociology at Columbia University from 1946 until his death in 1962. Mills published widely in both popular and intellectual jour ...

, Debendro Nath Banerjee,

Morris Ginsberg Morris Ginsberg (14 May 1889 – 31 August 1970) was a British sociologist, who played a key role in the development of the discipline. He served as editor of ''The Sociological Review'' in the 1930s and later became the founding chairman of ...

Raymond Firth Sir Raymond William Firth (25 March 1901 – 22 February 2002) was an ethnologist from New Zealand. As a result of Firth's ethnographic work, actual behaviour of societies (social organization) is separated from the idealized rules of behavio ...

and others. He believed in the Aristotelian philosophy that a teacher should always be available, so his students were welcomed in his office, as well as, in his home. For his scholarly performance, he won a Rockefeller Scholarship to go to the

London School of Economics & Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, where he was awarded a doctoral degree in sociology under the supervision of Professor T. B. Bottomore in 1964. His thesis' title was, ''"The Modern Muslim Political Elite in Bengal"'' which was later published in extended version under the title, "The Dynamics of Bangladesh Society" by Vikas Publishing House Private Ltd. in 1980.

Career

Karim's earliest teaching experience was as a lecturer at Feni College and

. Later, he became professor of both the Political Science and Sociology Departments at

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

. He was the founder and chairman of the Sociology Department at University of Dhaka. He authored articles, books, and short stories, sometimes under the pen name of Ibn Rashid. Throughout his life he encouraged learning, patronized the arts and the anthropological study of Bengal and belonged to many civic, cultural, and anthropological societies.

Legacy

Karim was nominated for the

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...

in 1983. The ''Nazmul Karim Study Centre'' at the University of Dhaka is named after him. In February 2012, he was posthumously awarded

. His family has set up two scholarship funds at Dhaka University. Since 1983, Dr. Nazmul Karim Memorial Gold Medal has been awarded to the student who stood First Class, First, in M.A. in sociology. From 2014, two scholarships were set up in his wife's name, Principal, Mrs. Syeda Jahanara Karim Scholarships for disadvantaged female students, one in economics and one in anthropology, at the University of Dhaka.

Publications

* "Falgoonkora," Sesame Book Corner, Dhaka, August 1958 * ''Samajbigyan Samikkhon,'' Nawroze Kitabistan, Dhaka, 1973 * ''Changing Society in India & Pakistan,'' Oxford University Press, Dhaka, 1956 * ''The Dynamics of Bangladesh Society,'' Vikas Publishing House Private Ltd., New Delhi, 1980 * ''Social Life of the Tiparas,'' The Pakistan Observer, 14 August 1949 * ''Pakistan and the Islamic State,'' The Muslim World, October, 1953 * ''New Nationalism in Pakistan,'' The Islamic Review, London, 1955 * ''Political Ideas Behind Pakistan,'' The New Values, Dhaka, January, 1955 * ''Social and Economic Background of Islam,'' The New Values, Dhaka, March, 1955 * ''The Concept of Islamic Community and Modern Theories of Nationality,'' The Islamic Review, August, 1955 * ''Some Aspects of Popular Beliefs among Muslims of Bengal,'' Eastern Anthropologist, Vol: IX, No. 1 (Lucknow, September–November, 1955) * ''Pakistan: An Outcome of Historical Process,'' The Republic, December, 1957 * ''Museums and the Preservation of our Dying Cultures,'' The Republic, Vol: 2, No. 3, August, 1959 * ''Crime in East Pakistan since 1947,'' International Review of Criminal Policy, No. 16, October, 1960, New York (in co-operation with Mr. Md. Badrud Doza) * ''The Methodology for a Sociology of East Pakistan,'' Social Research in East Pakistan, Pierre Bessaignet (ed.), The Asiatic Society of Pakistan, Dhaka, 1960 * ''The Aim of Development,'' Sociology in East Pakistan, John E. Owen (ed.), The Asiatic Society of Pakistan, Dhaka, 1962 * ''Social Stratification Patterns among the Muslims of Certain Districts of East Pakistan,'' Sociology in East Pakistan, John E. Owen (ed.), The Asiatic Society of Pakistan, Dhaka, 1962 * ''Changing Patterns of a East Pakistan Family,'' Women in the New Asia, Barbara Ward (ed.), UNESCO, 1965 (in co-operation with Mr. Md. Badrud Doza) * ''Political Elite and Agrarian Radicalism in East Pakistan,'' Holiday Forum, Dhaka, 12 September 1965 * ''Growth and Nature of Urban Agglomeration in Pakistan,'' Civilizations, Brussels, 1967 (in co-operation with Mr. Md. Badrud Doza) * ''The Concept of Crime,'' The Morning News, Dhaka, 19 January 1968 (in co-operation with Mr. Md. Badrud Doza) * ''Social Science in Bangladesh,'' Symposium on Social Science Research Development in Asia. Jakarta, Indonesia. 18–22 February 1974 sponsored and published by UNESCO * ''Max Weber's Theory of Prebendalization and Bangladesh Society,'' Bangladesh Journal of Sociology, edited by Professor Md. Afsaruddin, Vol: I, No. 1, 1983 (posthumous publication)

References

* Ibn Rashid (1958), "Falgoonkora" Published: Seasame Book Corner, 4 Abul Hasnat Road, Dhaka (erstwhile East Pakistan) * A.K. Nazmul Karim Commemorative Volume (2000) Dhaka University Press, Bangladesh * A.K. Nazmul Karim Memorial Lectures, Vol. I (2005) Published by Karim Memorial Lecture Management Committee, Dept. of Sociology, Dhaka University, Bangladesh * Marquis Who's Who In The World, 5th edition( 1980–1981) * Who's Who in the British Commonwealth (UK publication 1982) * A. K. Nazmul Karim Smarak Grantha, Professor Md. Afsaruddin (ed.), Dept. of Sociology: Dhaka University. * Various newspaper articles (The Pakistan Observer, Azad, Ittefaq, Morning News, Sangbad, Bangladesh Observer, Dainik Pakistan, Purbadesh) from the 1960s,1970s, and 1980s (from erstwhile East Pakistan) Bangladesh {{DEFAULTSORT:Karim, AK Nazmul 1922 births 1982 deaths Bangladeshi sociologists University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Alumni of the London School of Economics Diabetes-related deaths Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Place of death missing