Rashid Askari
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Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari (born 1 June 1965), known as Rashid Askari, is a writer, columnist, media personality, and an academic in
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
. He was the 12th vice-chancellor of
Islamic University, Bangladesh Islamic University, Bangladesh (legally: Islamic University); (; ) commonly referred to as Islamic University, Kushtia (abbreviated as IU), is a public PhD granting research university in Kushtia, Bangladesh and the largest seat of higher educa ...
. He served as the Director General of the
Bangla Academy The Bangla Academy (, ) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in Bangladesh. It is an autonomous institution funded by the Government of Bangladesh that fosters the Bengali language, literature and culture, works to develop an ...
for less than a month in 2024.


Early life and education

Rashid Askari was born in ''Askarpur'',
Mithapukur Mithapukur ( ' ) is an upazila of Rangpur District in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. The upazila is situated in the middle of Rangpur, surrounded by Rangpur Sadar Upazila, Rangpur Sadar to the north, Pirganj Upazila, Rangpur, Pirganj to the south, B ...
,
Rangpur Rangpur may refer to: Places In Bangladesh *Rangpur Division, one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. *Rangpur District, district of Bangladesh in Rangpur Division. *Rangpur, Bangladesh, metropolis and a major city in northern ...
in former
East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...
in 1965. He obtained Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in English from
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 ...
, and a ''PhD'' in
Indian English Literature Indian English literature (IEL), also referred to as Indian Writing in English (IWE), is the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language but whose native or co-native language could be one of the numerous languages of India ...
from the
University of Poona Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Pune, is a public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshkhind. The uni ...
".


Career

Askari joined as a lecturer in English at
Islamic University, Bangladesh Islamic University, Bangladesh (legally: Islamic University); (; ) commonly referred to as Islamic University, Kushtia (abbreviated as IU), is a public PhD granting research university in Kushtia, Bangladesh and the largest seat of higher educa ...
in 1990. He became promoted as Head of the English department and professor in 2005 and promoted to the position of the dean of the Faculty of Arts. He served with King Khalid University - the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a professor of English for five years (2008-2013). His debut as a writer was marked in 1996 by his book The Dying Homeland. He has written articles, essays and newspaper columns on a variety of themes. He is the editor of Bangladesh's first multilingual international literary magazine, The Archer. He was elected the Secretary General of Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers' Association for 2014. He was also elected chairman of folklore studies department of the Islamic University in
Kushtia Kushtia () is a city located on the banks of the Gorai River in Bangladesh. It serves as the headquarters of Kushtia District and is considered the cultural capital of Bangladesh. The city is known for its Tiler Khaja (sesame sweets), kulf ...
". Rashid Askari has been nominated as a part-time member of the
University Grants Commission of Bangladesh University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (; abbreviated as UCG) is the apex body responsible for overseeing higher education in Bangladesh, ensuring quality standards, and advising on university development. It was established on 16 December ...
(UGC). He is working as a member of ''the international publication and translation sub-committee'' under "Bangabandhu's Birth Centenary Celebration National Implementation Committee" and translated Sheikh Mujib's 10 January speech delivered at the Race Course into English. He also translated in English Sheikh Mujib's UN speech on 25 September 1974. He is a peer reviewer and a Quality Assurance (QA) expert nominated by the Quality Assurance Unit of the Government of
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
. "Askari regularly writes columns in various newspapers". "The areas of his academic interest include Modern and Postmodern Fiction, Colonial and Postcolonial Literatures, South-Asian Writing in English, Literary Theories and Creative Writing". In the recent past "Askari has been accorded gold medal for his contribution to advancement of education sector" in Bangladesh. He has also received "Janonetri Sheikh Hasina Award 2019" for his outstanding contribution to education sector, and "won the Dhaka University Alumni News Award 2020".


Writing style

Bangladeshi novelist and critic
Syed Manzoorul Islam Syed Manzoorul Islam (born 18 January 1951) is a Bangladeshi critic, writer and a former professor of Dhaka University. As a literary critic, he has written criticism on writers including Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Sudhindranat ...
said of Askari: In his short story collection ''Nineteen Seventy One and Other Stories''(2011) "Rashid Askari speaks of a long-ago war, revisiting the age of brutality we emerged free of through beating back the denizens of darkness". "The book contains a dozen of mind-blowing stories mostly based on realistic events that took place either in faraway villages or the bustling metropolis in Bangladesh. However, the regional fictional representation does not evade universal significance." The book has been translated into
French Language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
and also into
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
". His short story "Virus''"'' was published in the ''Daily Sun''s Eid Special 2017 and "A slice of sky" has been published in the Contemporary Literary Review India (CLRI). Askari wrote the intellectual biography of the country's founding president Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,  which is "based on authentic background information, factual accounts of events, historical research and clear elegant prose". He edited the English version of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's book ''My Father, My Bangladesh'' published in Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2021.


Bibliography


Books

* ''Mumūrṣu shadēśa'' (The Dying Homeland), 1996 * ''Indō-inrēji sāhitya ō an'yān'ya'' (Indo-English Literature and Others), 1996 * ''Ēkālēra rūpakathā'' (Today's Folktale), 1997 * ''Binirmita bhābanā'' (Deconstructing Thoughts), 2001 * ''Uttarādhunika sāhitya ō samālōcanā tattba'' (Postmodern Literary and Critical Theory), 2002 * ''The Wounded Land: Peoples, Politics, Culture, Literature, Liberation War, War Crimes, and Militancy in Bangladesh'', 2010 * ''Nineteen seventy one and other stories: a collection of short stories'', 2011 * ''English Writings of Tagore(3 volumes)'', 2012–13 * ''The Making of Mujib'': an intellectual biography, Dhaka: 2022, Bangla Academy * ''Bangladesh: Somokalin Somaj, Rajniti'' (Bangladesh: Contemporary Society-Politics) Dhaka: 2019 * ''Bangabandhu, Sheikh Hasina: Somokalin Bangladesh'' (Bangabandhu, Sheikh Hasina: Contemporary Bangladesh), Dhaka: 2022


Short stories

* ''Lottery'', 2011 * ''Nineteen seventy one'', 201

* ''Jihad'', 2012 * ''Locked-in Syndrome'', 201

* ''Virus'', 201

* ''The Disclosure'', 201

This was published in the emerging and seasoned writers publishing platform Kitaab' * ''The virgin whore'', 201

The virgin whore" was published in the New York City City and India based magazine Cafe Dissensus.' * ''A slice of sky'', 201


Awards

* The Oitijjo Gold Medal 2019 by
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
Folklore studies, Folklore Research Centre of
Rajshahi University The University of Rajshahi (), also known as Rajshahi University (RU), is a Public university, public research university located in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. It is the second oldest and third largest university in Bangladesh. The university's 59 ...
. * Janonetri Sheikh Hasina Award 2019. * The
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 ...
Alumni News Award 2020. * The Vidyasagar Award 2023 by Vidyasagar Society Dhaka.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Askari, Rashid 1965 births Living people People from Mithapukur Upazila University of Dhaka alumni Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni Bangladeshi male writers Academic staff of the Islamic University, Bangladesh Vice-chancellors of the Islamic University, Bangladesh Academic staff of King Khalid University