Eminent Bengali writer Syed Mujtaba Ali's 122nd birth anniversary today

The 122nd birth anniversary of eminent Bengali writer, journalist, travel enthusiast and linguist Syed Mujtaba Ali is today (13 September).  

Born on 13 September 1904 to a Bengali Muslim Syed family of Khandakars in Karimganj, Sylhet district, British Raj, Ali was one of the first to call for Bangla as East Pakistan's state language on 30 November 1947, at the Sylhet Kendriya Muslim Sahitya Sangsad , according to Wikipedia.

He was a prominent activist and supporter of Bengali as the national language of the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

 In 1948, being the principal of Azizul Huq College, Bogra, he wrote an essay, 'The State Language of East Pakistan', which was printed in Chaturanga of Kolkata. 

During that time, the West Pakistan Rulers tried to impose Urdu as the only state language of East Pakistan while Bengali was spoken by most of the people. The government of Pakistan demanded an explanation. But Ali resigned and moved to India. 

Ali slipped back to India in August 1949, tipped off by a friend that Pakistani authorities intended to arrest him for his vocal support of the Bengali language movement. 

After a brief stint at University of Calcutta in 1950, Ali became Secretary of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and editor of its Arabic journal Thaqafatul Hind.

From 1952 to 1956 he worked for All India Radio at New Delhi, Cuttack and Patna. 

He then joined Visva-Bharati University (1956–1964) as professor of German language and later of Islamic Culture. He lived in Kolkata till early 1972. Following the liberation of Bangladesh, he moved to Dhaka to live with his family until his death in 1974.

Ali's mother tongue was Sylheti-Bengali, but he also could speak standard Bengali, English, Russian, French, German, Italian, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, Gujarati, and Pashtu.

He lived in Bangladesh, India, Germany, Afghanistan and Egypt.

Alongside Natya Guru Nurul Momen and Jajabar (Binay Mukhopadhyay), Ali was one of the trail-blazers of a unique category of Bengali writing. 

'Ramya Rachana' in the Bengali language, an anecdotal story-telling – often based on real-life experiences – became immensely popular, mostly because of the attractive writing style of Ali. 

Deshe Bideshe, the story of his journey to and experiences in Kabul during his brief stint as professor in a college there is one of Ali's best works. Panchatantra is a collection of thoughts and short stories (some already published in 'Desh' magazine) of his days in Europe, Cairo and Baroda.

In 1972, after the Independence of Bangladesh, Ali returned to Bangladesh. He died on 11 February 1974.

Extracts from his literary works are included in the curriculum of school level, secondary, higher secondary and graduation level Bengali Literature in both Bangladesh and India, particularly in the states of West Bengal and Tripura. 

He was awarded Ekushey Padak, (posthumously) the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh in 2005 by the Government of Bangladesh.