Rashid Askari

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Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari
রাশিদ আসকারী
Rashid Askari updated picture.jpg
Rashid Askari at library
12th Vice-Chancellor of Islamic University, Bangladesh
In office
21 August 2016 – 20 August 2020
Personal details
Born (1965-06-01) 1 June 1965 (age 56)
Askarpur, Mithapukur, Rangpur, East Pakistan, Present day Bangladesh
NationalityBangladeshi
Alma mater
OccupationWriter, fictionist, columnist, university academic, media personality
Signature

Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari (born 1 June 1965), known as Rashid Askari, is a Bengali-English writer, fictionist, columnist, translator, media personality and an academic in Bangladesh.[1] He was the 12th vice-chancellor of Islamic University, Bangladesh in Kushtia.[2] Among the Bangladeshi writers after mid-1990s, he is easily on a par with the major ones who gained identical and impressive mastery over both Bangla and English.[3]

Early life and education[]

Askari was born in Askarpur, Mithapukur, Rangpur in erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1965 to M. A. Mannan, an English teacher and headmaster, and Setara Begum, a housewife. Rashid passed the secondary school and higher secondary certificate examinations in 1980 and 1982. He "obtained Honours and Master's degrees in English from Dhaka University with distinction, and a PhD in Indian English Literature from the University of Poona".[4]

Career[]

Askari joined Islamic University, Kushtia as a lecturer in English in 1990. He became a professor in 2005 and was head of the English department more than once. Currently, he is the dean of the Faculty of Arts.[5] He served with King Khalid University - the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a professor of English for five years (2008-2013). Askari later became a writer. His "debut as a writer was marked in 1996 by his book The Dying Homeland. Until recently, he has authored seven books and edited three volumes of English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore (2012-2013) published in commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of the poet. He has also written a large number of articles, essays and newspaper columns on a great variety of themes ranging from national to international and colonial to postcolonial, which have been published at home and abroad".[6] He is the editor of Bangladesh's first multilingual international literary magazine—The Archer.[7] He was elected the Secretary General of Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers' Association for 2014.[8] He was "made new chairman of folklore studies department of the Islamic University in Kushtia".[9] Askari has been nominated as a part-time member of the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC).[10] He is working as a member of "the international publication and translation sub-committee" under "Bangabandhu's Birth Centenary Celebration National Implementation Committee" [11] and translated Sheikh Mujib's 10 January speech delivered at the Race Course into English.[12] He also translated in English Sheikh Mujib's UN speech on 25 September 1974.[13]

He is a peer reviewer and a Quality Assurance (QA) expert nominated by the Quality Assurance Unit of the Government of Bangladesh.[14] "Askari regularly writes columns in various newspapers".[4] "The areas of his academic interest include Modern and Postmodern Fiction, Colonial and Postcolonial Literatures, South-Asian Writing in English, Literary Theories and Creative Writing".[15] In the recent past "Askari has been accorded gold medal for his contribution to advancement of education sector" in Bangladesh.[16][17] He has also received "Janonetri Sheikh Hasina Award 2019" for his outstanding contribution to education sector,[18] and "won the Dhaka University Alumni News Award 2020".[19]

Writing style[]

Askari had a flair for creative writing since his school days.[20] An unsigned profile in The Kushtia Times stated that Askari writes "both Bengali and English with equal ease and efficiency".[21] Bangladeshi novelist and critic Syed Manzoorul Islam notes:

He writes witty, racy stories with surprisingly serious undertones. Picking real-life events from the remote areas and the marginal people of the country and weaving them into various fictional forms are the hallmarks of his storytelling. Though not new in a ground-breaking way, his stories are both intense and original. The overall tone of his language is gently sarcastic.[22]

Askari has demonstrated enough artistic talent to come up with fiction in English, which must be a source of inspiration for many of us".[23] In his short story collection Nineteen Seventy One and Other Stories(2011) "Rashid Askari speaks of a long-ago war, revisiting the age of brutality we emerged free of through beating back the denizens of darkness".[24] "The book contains a dozen of mind-blowing stories mostly based on realistic events that took place either in faraway villages or the bustling metropolis in Bangladesh. However, the regional fictional representation does not evade universal significance."[25] The book has been translated into French Language and also into Hindi".[26] His short story "Virus" was published in the Daily Sun's Eid Special 2017 and "A slice of sky" has been published in the Contemporary Literary Review India (CLRI), a peer-reviewed , internationally refereed and high impact factor journal.[27] He edited the English version of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s book My Father, My Bangladesh published in Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2021.[28] "Sharp and minute detailed description of human behaviour, and pictorial presentation of events and settings in his carefully chosen words demonstrate Rashid Askari's mastery in story writing/telling," says the President of the International Consortium for Social Development and Professor of Social Work at Charles Sturt University, NSW, Australia, Manohar Pawar.[29] "There is a postcolonial undertone in the author’s approach by way of debunking the ugly face of the petty-colonial power in the saddle after 1947".[3] "Like most postcolonial writers, his choice of English makes him at once an insider and an outsider – a member of the social elite, who writes about the subaltern."[30] Askari's "sensible uses of stylistics can make it pure theory or theory equal."[31]

Bibliography[]

Books[]

  • Mumūrṣu shadēśa (The Dying Homeland), 1996
  • Indō-inrēji sāhitya ō an'yān'ya (Indo-English Literature and Others), 1996
  • Ēkālēra rūpakathā (Today's Folktale), 1997
  • Binirmita bhābanā (Deconstructing Thoughts), 2001
  • Uttarādhunika sāhitya ō samālōcanā tattba (Postmodern Literary and Critical Theory), 2002
  • Peoples, Politics, Culture, Literature, Liberation War, War Crimes, and Militancy in Bangladesh, 2010
  • Nineteen seventy one and other stories: a collection of short stories, 2011
  • English Writings of Tagore(3 volumes), 2012–13

Short stories[]

  • Lottery, 2011 [1]
  • Nineteen seventy one, 2011 [2]
  • Jihad, 2012[32]
  • Locked-in Syndrome, 2012 [3]
  • Virus, 2017 [4]
  • The Disclosure, 2019 [5]- This was published in the emerging and seasoned writers publishing platform Kitaab'[33]
  • The virgin whore, 2019 [6]- The virgin whore" was published in the New York City and India based magazine Cafe Dissensus.[34]
  • A slice of sky, 2019 [7]

Articles[]

Newspaper columns[]

  • -- (14 Dec 2007). ''Intellectual killing and the war crimes of 1971''[37]
  • (August 15, 2007). Mujib and the Declaration of Independence[38]
  • -- (15 Aug 2010). ''The founder of Bangladesh''[39]
  • -- (16 Dec , 2010). Liberation War facts[40]
  • -- (17 Sep 2011). Tagore poetry in English.[41]
  • -- (11 Jan 2015). The crowded planet and the fate of mankind[42]
  • -- (21 June 2015). ''Bangladesh and the blue economy''[43]
  • -- (28 Feb, 2018). "Bangla Should Be a UN Language".[44]
  • -- (13 Feb, 2018). "Valentine's Day and an Anatomy of Love".[45]
  • -- (3 Nov, 2018). "Dhaka Translation Fest: A Window on the World".[46]
  • -- (24 Oct, 2018). "Rabindranath, Bangladesh and the Bangalee Diaspora"[47]
  • -- (10 May 2018). "Tagore And Bangladesh"[48]
  • -- (28 Apr, 2018). "Poet Belal Chowdhury: Our Grand Old Man of Poesy"[49]
  • -- (9 Nov, 2018). The birth of Dhaka Translation Fest (DTF)[50]
  • -- (10 Jan, 2020). "We don't know defeat"[51]
  • -- (3 Nov, 2019). "Establishing Int'l Publication and Translation Institute is a matter of urgency"[52]
  • -- (24 Oct, 2019). "Bangladesh and the Uncrowned Queen of Development"
  • -- (22 Sep, 2019). "7th ICSDAP Conference on Social Unrest, Peace and Development"[53]
  • -- (7 Mar 2020). ''Bangabandhu's 7 March Speech: The Power of Spoken Word''[54]
  • -- (30 Mar, 2020). "Life in the Time of Corona"[55]
  • -- (31 Mar, 2020). "Corona-phobia: Times of Stress and Angst"[56]
  • -- (05 Apr, 2020). ''The plague of COVID-19''[57]
  • -- (25 Sep 2020). The essential Vidyasagar: (On his 200th birth anniversary)[58]
  • -- (18 Oct, 2020). A flower born to blush unseen[59]
  • -- (31 May 2019). Dialogue of Asian civilizations: Uniting Asia and beyond[60]
  • -- (23 August 2015).Why write fiction in English[61]

Book review[]

Awards[]

References[]

  1. ^ "A brief history of Bangladeshi writing in English". The Missing Slate. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Rashid Askari made IU VC". New Age. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b Toimoor, Muhammad Alamgir (9 December 2013). "Reflecting on post-war days". The Daily Star (Opinion). Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b "A Talk with IU VC". Daily Sun. Dhaka. 18 September 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017.
  5. ^ "IU Arts Faculty gets new dean". New Age. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Rashid Askari – Sangat Book Review". Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  7. ^ "The Archer: First ever multilingual int'l literary magazine in country - Education - observerbd.com". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Farid made president, Rashid secy gen of FBUTA". New Age. Dhaka. BSS. 9 March 2014.
  9. ^ "IU Folklore Dept gets new chairman". The Financial Express. Dhaka. BSS. 21 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Dr Rashid Askari nominated UGC part-time member". Daily Sun. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  11. ^ Mosharrof. "Coffee table book to be published on Bangabandhu". Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  12. ^ "'We don't know defeat'". The Daily Star. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Bangabandhu's historic 1974 UN speech by Askari". The Independent. Dhaka.
  14. ^ "Peer Reviewers Panel (QA experts)" (PDF). Quality Assurance Unit, University Grants Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2016.
  15. ^ "Rashid Askari – Sangat Book Review".
  16. ^ "Abul Hossain, Askari awarded for contribution to education sector". Daily Sun. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  17. ^ "IU VC got PBA gold medal". The Asian Age. Bangladesh. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  18. ^ "IU VC awarded 'Jononetri Sheikh Hasina Sommanona Padak-2019'". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  19. ^ "IU VC wins DU Alumni News Award". UNB. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Rashid Askari – Sangat Book Review". Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Profile of the week--Dr. Rashid Askari: Fiction writer, critic, columnist, teacher, and social analyst". The Kushtia Times. 9 January 2012.
  22. ^ Islam, Syed Manzoorul (16 February 2012). "Nineteen seventy one and other stories: a collection of short stories". Dhaka Courier. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013.
  23. ^ "A Talk with IU VC". Daily Sun. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  24. ^ "A chronicler of the human soul". Dhaka Tribune (Op-ed). 22 August 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  25. ^ "The Harrowing Tales of Bangladesh Liberation War". Dhaka Courier. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  26. ^ "IU VC's book translated into French". A Daily with a Difference | Latest Online English Daily among Bangladesh Newspapers. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  27. ^ Askari, Dr Rashid (5 November 2019). "A Slice of Sky". Contemporary Literary Review India. 6 (4): 68–91. ISSN 2394-6075.
  28. ^ "Ex-IU VC Prof Rashid Askari edits PM's book 'My Father, My Bangladesh". Daily Sun. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  29. ^ a b Pawar, Manohar (1 December 2019). "Askari Rashid, Nineteen Seventy One: Short Stories". The International Journal of Community and Social Development. 1 (4): 357–358. doi:10.1177/2516602619889245. ISSN 2516-6026.
  30. ^ WordPress.com, Create a free website or blog at (15 April 2018). "Book Review: Rashid Askari's 'Nineteen Seventy One and Other Stories'". Cafe Dissensus Everyday. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  31. ^ Hupp, Stephen (October 1997). "SIRS Government Reporter". Electronic Resources Review. 1 (10): 113–114. doi:10.1108/err.1997.1.10.113.95. ISSN 1364-5137.
  32. ^ "Jihad". Daily Sun. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  33. ^ Chakravarty, Mitali (12 October 2019). "Short Story: The Disclosure". kitaab. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  34. ^ WordPress.com, Blog at (31 March 2019). "Short Story: The virgin whore". Cafe Dissensus Everyday. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  35. ^ "Forum". archive.thedailystar.net. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  36. ^ "Tipaimukh Dam and Indian Hydropolitics". Forum. The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  37. ^ "Intellectual killing and the war crimes of 1971". The Daily Star. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  38. ^ "Mujib and the Declaration of Independence". The Daily Star. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  39. ^ "The founder of Bangladesh". The Daily Star. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  40. ^ "Liberation War facts". The Daily Star. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  41. ^ "Tagore poetry in English". The Daily Star. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  42. ^ "The crowded planet and the fate of mankind". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  43. ^ "Bangladesh and the blue economy". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  44. ^ "Bangla Should Be a UN Language". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  45. ^ "Valentine's Day and an Anatomy of Love". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  46. ^ "Dhaka Translation Fest: A Window on the World". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  47. ^ "Rabindranath, Bangladesh and the Bangalee Diaspora". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  48. ^ "Tagore and Bangladesh – Different Truths". Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  49. ^ "Poet Belal Chowdhury: Our Grand Old Man of Poesy". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  50. ^ "The birth of Dhaka Translation Fest (DTF)". Dhaka Courier. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  51. ^ "'We don't know defeat'". The Daily Star. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  52. ^ "Establishing Int'l Publication and Translation Institute is a matter of urgency". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  53. ^ WordPress.com, Blog at (22 September 2019). "7th ICSDAP Conference on Social Unrest, Peace and Development". Cafe Dissensus Everyday. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  54. ^ "Bangabandhu's 7 March Speech: The Power of Spoken Word". Daily Sun. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  55. ^ WordPress.com, Create a free website or blog at (29 March 2020). "Life in the Time of Corona". Cafe Dissensus Everyday. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  56. ^ "Corona-phobia: Times of Stress and Angst". Daily Sun. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  57. ^ "The plague of COVID-19". New Age. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  58. ^ "The essential Vidyasagar: (On his 200th birth anniversary)". Dhaka Courier. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  59. ^ "A flower born to blush unseen". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  60. ^ "Dialogue of Asian civilizations: Uniting Asia and beyond". Dhaka Courier. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  61. ^ "Why write fiction in English". www.observerbd.com. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  62. ^ "Nineteen seventy one and other stories - Book Review". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  63. ^ "Abul Hossain, Askari awarded for contribution to education sector". Daily Sun. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  64. ^ "IU VC Dr. Rashid Askari awarded 'Oitijjha Gold Medal'". OurtimeBD. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  65. ^ "IU VC awarded 'Jononetri Sheikh Hasina Sommanona Padak-2019'". Daily Sun. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  66. ^ "IU VC wins DU Alumni News Award". The Asian Age. Bangladesh. Retrieved 19 February 2020.

External links[]

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