Ramganj (Lakshmipur) Correspondent:

The memorial meeting of writer, essayist and thinker Motaher Hossain Chowdhury was held at the Ramganj Upazila Parishad auditorium on Thursday morning.
Ramganj Upazila Executive Officer Syed Mohammad Robin Shish presided over the function and Lakshmipur Deputy Commissioner Rajib Kumar Sarkar was present as the chief guest.

Under the chairmanship of Upazila Academic Supervisor Sharifullah As Shams, National Curriculum and Textbook Board researcher and expert Dr. Qudrat-e-Huda, literary editor of Daily Jugantor poet Junnu Rain, general secretary of Lakshmipur District Sahitya Sangsad poet Gazi Gias Uddin and writer's son Captain Syed Zahid Hossain spoke as special guests.

Writer, essayist and thinker Motaher Hossain Chowdhury, the son of Syed Abdul Majid and mother Fatema Khatun of Kanchanpur village of Kanchanpur union in Ramganj upazila of Lakshmipur district, was born in 1903. He passed away on September 18, 1956, at the age of 53.

On the occasion of the memorial meeting of Motaher Hossain Chowdhury, a prominent essayist of Bengali literature and a pioneer of free thought, Lakshmipur District Commissioner Rajib Kumar Sarkar handed over the posthumous award to the writer's son Captain Syed Zahid Hossain.

A book review competition was organized by the Ramganj Upazila administration on the occasion of the memorial meeting of Motaher Hossain Chowdhury. In the said competition, Ishrat Jahan, a 12th grade student of Farid Ahmed Bhuiyan Academy, won the first place in the book review category, Fatema Akhter Mitu, a 12th grade student of Ziaul Haque High School and College, won the first place in the review of Motaher Hossain Chowdhury's Sanskriti Katha essay, and Sanjida Jahan Maria, a 12th grade student of Ramganj Model College, won the first place in the translation of Motaher Hossain Chowdhury's Clive Vale's Civilization.

Motaher Hossain Chowdhury completed his SSC from Yusuf High School in Comilla, BA from Comilla Victoria College, and MA in Bengali from Dhaka University before starting teaching. He started his career as a lecturer at Islamia College in Kolkata, but after the partition, he taught at Chittagong College for a long time.

Motaher Hossain Chowdhury, who was interested in literature since childhood, was an active worker of the "Buddhir Mukti Andolan" and was closely associated with the Muslim literary society. His writings clearly reflect the imprint of free-thinking, humanity and mindfulness. The essay collection “Sanskriti Katha” (1958), the translation collection “Sabhyata” (1965) and “Sukh” (1965) have made a special contribution to Bengali literature.

In prose influenced by Pramath Chowdhury and Rabindranath Tagore, he wrote a deep analysis of society, culture, religion and humanity. His timeless saying “Dharma is the culture of the common people, and culture is the religion of the educated, elegant people” is equally relevant in discussions even today.

His literary achievements and message of free thought still guide Bengali society today.