Zafar Sobhan

Zafar Sobhan is a prominent Bangladeshi public intellectual, lawyer, journalist, and political analyst. He was the Editor of the ''Dhaka Tribune''from 2012 until 2025, one of the major English language newspapers of Bangladesh. Sobhan became the first internationally syndicated columnist to emerge from the English-language Bangladeshi press. He is widely considered as a leading, liberal man of letters.

Early life and education

Sobhan was born in Bangladesh on 19 May 1970 to Rehman Sobhan and Salma Sobhan. The Sobhan family is related to Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the last Prime Minister of Bengal and the 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan. Sobhan's father was a member of Bangladesh's first Planning Commission and later an Adviser to the Caretaker Government led by Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed in 1990-91. His mother was the first woman barrister of Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as a Research Fellow in the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs. His uncle Farooq Sobhan was the 17th Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh. His aunt is Princess Sarvath al-Hassan, a Jordanian royal and the wife of Prince Hassan bin Talal. Sobhan's education was mostly in the West. He moved to Bangladesh at the age of 10, learned Bengali, and attended the Bangladesh International Tutorial school, as well as boarding school in India. After graduating from Pomona College, he spent a year in Bangladesh teaching English literature in Scholastica before moving to Pepperdine University to study law. He also studied in the University of British Columbia before moving to New York City to work as a corporate lawyer.

Career

Sobhan is one of the few Bangladeshi members of the New York State Bar. He was an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton. He also worked as a public school teacher in New York City. In 2003, Sobhan moved to Dhaka to lead the opinions team at '' The Daily Star''. He became the op-ed editor of the newspaper and revived the ''Forum'' magazine, which was in publication from 2004 to 2010. He also gained journalistic experience at ''The Independent'', ''Dhaka Courier'' and ''Shokaler Khobor''. Sobhan became Bangladesh's first internationally syndicated columnist with articles published in many newspapers and magazines, including ''The New York Times'', ''Economic and Political Weekly'', ''The Guardian'', ''Himal Southasian'', ''Time'', and ''Outlook'' among others. He was named by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. He also became a Yale World Fellow in 2009. In 2013, Sobhan became the founding editor of the ''Dhaka Tribune''.

Sobhan has represented a new generation of eloquent, liberal minded young leaders in Bangladesh. Under his leadership, the ''Dhaka Tribune'' became the fastest growing newspaper in Bangladesh's history. While criticized for pushing pro-Awami League talking points, the Tribune emerged as a significant interlocutor among civil society

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases