Syed Najmuddin Hashim (1925-1999) was a Bangladeshi journalist, politician, and writer.

Early life

Hashim was born on 1 June 1925 in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = Eas ...

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

. In 1942, he graduated from

St Gregory's High School St. Gregory's High School & College is a Catholic school in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was founded in 1882, when the city was part of British India, by Gregory De Groote, a Belgian Benedictine priest. The school, located on Municipal office street of L ...

and from Dhaka Intermediate College in 1944. In 1946 he graduated with a B.A. in English from

Presidency College Calcutta Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affilia ...

Career

Hashim started his career as a journalist. From 1948 to 1962 he worked in Radio Pakistan including as Editor and Broadcaster. From 1962 to 1964 he worked in the Industrial Development Bank as the Chief Public Relations Officer. From 1966 to 1968 he was the Deputy Director of Bureau of National Research and Reconstruction. From 1968 to 1970, he was the First Secretary at the Pakistan Embassy in France. From 1970 to 1972, Hashim was the Executive Director of Pakistan Council. From 1974 to 1975 he served as the Managing Director of

Bangladesh Film Development Corporation Bangladesh Film Development Corporation or BFDC, is a government owned and operated corporation in Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Nuzhat Yeasmin is the managing director of the corporation. History The organization was founded in 1959 as the East P ...

after which he was appointed Joint Secretary to the Ministry of Information. From 1975 to 1979, Hashim served as a Director General at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

. From 1979 to 1980, he was stationed in the Bangladesh High Commission in London as the Press Minister. From 1980 to 1982, he was the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Singapore and the Ambassador to

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. He was the Minister of Information of Bangladesh from 1982 to 1984 in the cabinet of President of

Hussain Mohammad Ershad Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time ma ...

. From 1984 to 1986 he was the Bangladesh Ambassador to USSR with accreditation as ambassador to Finland and Mongolia.

Bibliography

He wrote a number of non-fiction books about the history and politics of Bangladesh, some were published posthumously. * Bandishala Pakistan (1994) * Ashleshar Rakshasi Belai: Smritipate Sheikh Mujib O Anyanya (1996) * Samudyata Daiva Durbipakey (1999) * The Devottee, the Combatant: Selected Poems of Shamsur Rahman (2000) * Hopefully the Pomegranate (2007)

Death

Hashim died on 18 August 1999 in Dhaka,

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, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hashim, Syed Najmuddin 1925 births 1999 deaths Bangladeshi diplomats High Commissioners of Bangladesh to Singapore Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Myanmar Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Finland Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Mongolia Ambassadors of Bangladesh to USSR Bangladeshi male writers 20th-century Bangladeshi writers People from Dhaka Presidency University, Kolkata alumni Dhaka College alumni Bangladeshi civil servants Bangladeshi journalists Bangladeshi politicians St. Gregory's High School and College alumni