Rajib Humayun

Humayun was born in Sandwip, Chittagong District, East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh).^[5] His parents were Maulavi Syed Ahmad, a teacher of Kargil Government High School and Azmatunnesa Begum.^[5]

During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, his younger brother, Jasim Uddin Ahmad, a member of the Mukti Bahini, was captured, tortured, and executed allegedly by Mir Quasem Ali.^[5] In later years, Humayun testified against Quasem Ali during his trial for war crimes.^[5]

Humayun completed his secondary education in 1966 from South Sandwip High School before attending Rajshahi College, where he passed his Higher Secondary Certificate examination in 1968, ranking fifth in the Comilla Board.^[5] He subsequently earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Bengali language and literature from the University of Dhaka.^[5] In 1978, he was awarded a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Pune, India, for his doctoral thesis, The Descriptive Analysis of Sandvipi in Its Socio-Cultural Context.^[6]

Following the completion of his doctoral studies, Humayun began his academic career at the University of Chittagong as an assistant professor in 1977.^[5] He subsequently taught at Jahangirnagar University before joining the University of Dhaka as an associate professor in the Bangla Department in 1986. In 1992, he became the founding chairperson of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Dhaka, where he played a central role in establishing the discipline as an independent academic field. He served in this position until his retirement in 2004.^[7] After retirement, he continued his academic engagement as a faculty member at North South University.^[8]

Humayun authored a number of notable works, including Nazrul and World Culture, Nazrul Islam and Bangladeshi Literature, Nazrul's Writing Techniques, and Abul Mansur Ahmad's Satire and Cultural Thought. His scholarly contributions also extended to sociolinguistics, as well as studies on the history, society, and culture of Sandwip.^[5] In 2015, he received recognition for his research on Abul Mansur Ahmad.^[9]

Alongside his academic pursuits, Humayun was actively involved in cultural activities as a playwright and appeared in numerous Bangladesh Television programmes.^[3] He also served as president of the Chittagong chapter of Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi.^[3]

Humayun died on 5 July 2017 at Apollo Hospital in Dhaka due to complications from kidney disease, aged 67. After his death, a commemorative book titled 'Rajib Humayun Kriti o Smrity'/'রাজীব হুমায়ুন কৃতি ও স্মৃতি' was published.^[3][10]