Ghulam Murshid

Ghulam Murshid ( Born 8 April 1940 )^[1] is a Bangladeshi author, scholar and journalist, based in London. He won a number of honors and awards, including Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1982 for his contribution to research.;^[2] Prothom Alo Book Award in 2007; IFIC literary prize 2018; the Ekusey Padak for language and literature in 2021 and the Vidyasagar Endowments Lectures 1973 at Calcutta University. Besides being a prolific author, Dr. Murshid is a distinguished lexicographer. He edited a three-volume Bengali dictionary, called 'Bibartonmulak Bangla Abhidhan', published in 2013-2014, by the Bangla Academy. In the two hundred year's of history of Bengali dictionaries, it is the first to be based on historical principles. It provides the evolution of the form and meaning of every word and traces the first use thereof in written Bengali.

Career[]

Murshid was previously a professor of Bengali literature at the University of Rajshahi and a radio journalist with the British Broadcasting Corporation in London. He also held teaching and research positions with Bangladesh Agricultural University and University of Melbourne. He is currently a research associate with the department of the language and culture of South Asia at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London,^[3] and an occasional commentator for Voice of America.

Murshid is a leading scholar on the literature, history, culture and society of Bengal. He is the author of a number of well-known, path-breaking studies and has published over 30 books and numerous articles on a variety of subjects, including Women Studies, Bengali Language and Literature, and Socio-cultural History of Bengal. His unique, lucid style of writing, which distinguishes him from many other leading authors in South Asia, makes his works best sellers among his readership.

Selected Research and Publications[]

Books in English

• Reluctant Debutante: Response of Bengali Women to Modernization, 1849–1905. ( Rajshahi: Sahitya Samsad, Rajshahi University, 1983 ).
• Lured by Hope: A Biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutt, tr. by Gopa Majumdar, (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003).
• The Heart of a Rebel Poet: Letters of Michael Madhusudan Dutt, (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004).
• Bengali Culture Over A Thousand Years, tr. by Sarbari Sinha (Delhi: Niyogi Books, 2018)

Books in Bengali

• Vaishnava Padavali Prabeshak [ An Introduction to Medieval Vaishnava Songs ] ( Dhaka: Khan Brothers & Co., 1968).
• Vidyasagar [Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar: 150th Anniversary Commemoration Volume]. Editor and Contributor. (Rajshahi: Sahitya Samsad, Rajshahi University, 1970). (2nd ed; Calcutta: Vidyodaya Library, 1971; 3rd ed. Dhaka: Shobha Prokash, 2011).
• Bangladesher Swadhinata Sangramer Samskritik Patabhumi [ The Cultural Background of the War of Liberation in Bangladesh] ( Calcutta: Indian Associated Press, 1971).
• Rabindraviswe Purba-Banga Purba-Bange Rabindracharcha [ East Bengal in Rabindranath Tagore's Writings and the Study of Tagore in East Bengal ] ( Based on the Vidyadagar Endowment Lectures given at Calcutta University ) ( 2nd edn; Dhaka: Bangla Academy, 1994. 3rd ed, Abosar, 2016 ).
• Samaj Samskar Andolan O Bangla Natak, 1865-76 [Social Reform Movement and Bengali Dramatic Writings ] ( Dhaka: Bangla Academy, 1985. 2nd ed. Naya Udyog, Kolkata, 2012 ).
• Bangla Mudran O Prakashanar Adi-Parba [ Early Phase of Printing and Publication in Bengal ] (Dhaka: Bangla Academy, 1984).
• Samkocher Bivhabalata: Adhunikatar Abhighate Banga-Ramanir Pratikriya [ Bengali translation of Response of Bengali Women to Modernization]. ( Dhaka: Bangla Academy, 1985). (2nd ed.; Calcutta,Naya Udyog 2001. 3rd ed. Prothoma, Dhaka, 2016)
• Bengali English Bengali Dictionary ( London: Ruposhi Bangla, 1989; 2nd ed. 1994).
• Kalantare Bangla Gadya [A history of 18th-century Bengali prose], (Calcutta: Ananda Publishers, 1993. 2nd ed. Abasar, Dhaka, 2016).
• Jakhan Palatak [Based on the author's experiences during the War of Liberation in Bangladesh] (Dhaka: Sahitya Prakash, 1993, 2nd ed. 2004).
• Rasasundari theke Rokeya: Nariprogatir Eksho Bachhar [From Rasasundari to Rokeya: A Century of Women's Modernization] (Dhaka: Bangla Academy, 1994. 2nd ed. 1999. 3rd ed. 2016)
• Ashar Chhalaner Bhuli [Seduced by Hope: A literary biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutt] (Calcutta: Ananda Publishers, 1995. 2nd ed. 1997. 3rd ed. 2000, Reprinted many times since then.)
• Ujan Srote Bangladesh, (Dhaka: Mowla Brothers, 2003).
• Hazar Bachhorer Bangali Samskriti, (Dhaka: Abosar, 2006. Reprinted 10 times).
• Nari Dharmo Ityadi, (Dhaka: Anya Prokash, 2007).
• Madhur Khonje, (Dhaka: Abosar, 2007).
• Kalapanir Hatchhani: Bilete Bangalir Itihas, (Dhaka: Abosar, 2008.)
• Atharo Shataker Bangla Gadya: Itiahs O Sankalan, (Dhaka: Anya Prokash, 2009. 2nd ed, Kolkata: Naya Udyog, 2010.)
• Chhoto-barho Sobar Michael, A short biography of Michael Madhusudan, (Dhaka: Abosar, 2009.)
• Muktijuddha O tarpor: Ekti Nirdaliya Itihas, (Dhaka: Prothoma, 2010. Reprinted 14 times).
• Bangla Academy Bibartanmulak Abhidhan, 3 Vols, Editor, (Dhaka: Bangla Academy 2013-14).
• Renaissance Banglar Renaissance, (Dhaka: Abosar, 2015).
• Alokita Mukhocchabi, (Dhaka: Abosar, 2017).
• Bidrohi Ranaklanta: Nazrul Jibani, (Dhaka: Prothoma, 2018, 5th ed Jan 2020).
• Rabindranather Nari-bhabna (Dhaka: Abasor, January, 2020)

References[]