Early life and education
Choudhury was born in the village of Baroikhali under the Sreenagar thana in the district of Munshigonj to Hafizuddin Chowdhury and Asia Khatun. He is the eldest of the nine brothers and four sisters including Amanul Islam Chowdhury (d. 2020) and Fakrul Islam Chowdhury (d. 2023). In his early life, he liked to build his career as a novelist, but his father wanted him to join the civil service after a degree in Economics. On a note of compromise, he enrolled with the English department at theCareer
Choudhury joined as a lecturer the Department of English, Dhaka University, in 1957, planning also to be a writer. He decided not to become a bureaucrat which many around him were becoming then. He stated two reasons why he wanted to be a writer: first, his work at the university, which would ensure that he would not be transferred from place to place and which would allow him time to read and write a lot; and, second, his temperament. In more than four decades that followed, he taught students, wrote essays, headed the department, became Dean, spawned off several academic and research projects, initiated doctoral dissertation guidance at the department, started periodicals, founded study centers, and remained involved in university politics. Choudhury first initiated to offer the Ph.D. degree in English at Dhaka University. He edited journals, the university journals of arts and letters, in Bangla and English — ''Dhaka Visvavidyalay Patrika'' for 15 years and ''Dhaka University Studies'' for nine years. He founded the ''Visvavidyalay Patrika''. Choudhury also founded a national views weekly called ''Somoy'' and co-edited it with Azfar Hussain, Zaheda Ahmad ''et al'', from the early to the mid-1990s. He founded the University Book Centre in 1978 and the Centre for Advanced Research in Humanities in 1986. In keeping with the spirit, he now runs a centre called Samaj Rupantar Adhyayan Kendra (Centre for Social Transformation Studies), which works towards waking people up to a democracy which would mean ‘equality of rights and opportunities. Rights being equal would not mean anything unless the opportunities remain equal.’Personal life
Choudhury was married to Nazma Jesmin Choudhury. She was a professor the University of Dhaka. Their children are Rownak Ara Choudhury and Sharmin Choudhury.Awards
*Selected publications
Choudhury's books in the Bengali language: *''Anveshana '' *''Nirbachita Prabandha'' (1999) *''Rashtra o Samskrti'' (1993) *''Nazrul Islam: Poet and More'' (1994) azrul Institute*''Bangalir Jaya Parajaya'' (1994) *''Apanajana'' (1992) Choudhury's books in the English: * * *References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choudhury, Serajul Islam Living people 1936 births Bangladeshi essayists Bangladeshi male writers Bangladeshi Marxists Bangladeshi translators Bangladeshi literary critics Recipients of the Ekushey Padak University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Alumni of the University of Leicester Male essayists Notre Dame College, Dhaka alumni Recipients of Bangla Academy Award Bangladeshi political writers Alumni of the University of Leeds