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

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

Early life and education

Rashid Askari was born in Askarpur, Mithapukur, Rangpur in former East Pakistan in 1965. He passed the secondary school certificate examinations and higher secondary certificate examinations in 1980 and 1982. He has obtained Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in English from Dhaka University with distinction, and a PhD in Indian English Literature from the University of Poona".[4]

Career

Rashid Askari joined as a lecturer in English at Islamic University, Bangladesh in 1990. He became promoted as Head of the English department and professor in 2005 and promoted to the position of 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). His debut as a writer was marked in 1996 by his book The Dying Homeland. 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 also elected chairman of folklore studies department of the Islamic University in Kushtia".[9] Rashid 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 Literature, 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] Askari wrote the intellectual biography of the country's founding president Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,  which is "based on authentic background information, factual accounts of events, historical research and clear elegant prose".[28] He edited the English version of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s book My Father, My Bangladesh published in Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2021.[29] "Sharp and minute detailed description of human behavior, 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.[30] "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."[31] Askari's "sensible uses of stylistics can make it pure theory or theory equal."[32]

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
  • The Wounded Land: 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
  • The Making of Mujib: an intellectual biography, Dhaka: 2022, Bangla Academy
  • Bangladesh: Somokalin Somaj, Rajniti (Bangladesh: Contemporary Society-Politics) Dhaka: 2019
  • Bangabandhu, Sheikh Hasina: Somokalin Bangladesh (Bangabandhu, Sheikh Hasina: Contemporary Bangladesh), Dhaka: 2022

Short stories

  • Lottery, 2011 [33]
  • Nineteen seventy one, 2011
  • Jihad, 2012[34]
  • Locked-in Syndrome, 2012
  • Virus, 2017
  • The Disclosure, 2019 - This was published in the emerging and seasoned writers publishing platform Kitaab'[35]
  • The virgin whore, 2019 - The virgin whore" was published in the New York City and India based magazine Cafe Dissensus.[36]
  • A slice of sky, 2019

Articles

Newspaper columns

  • -- (14 Dec 2007). ''Intellectual killing and the war crimes of 1971''[39]
  • (August 15, 2007). Mujib and the Declaration of Independence[40]
  • -- (15 Aug 2010). ''The founder of Bangladesh''[41]
  • -- (16 Dec , 2010). Liberation War facts[42]
  • -- (17 Sep 2011). Tagore poetry in English.[43]
  • -- (11 Jan 2015). The crowded planet and the fate of mankind[44]
  • -- (21 June 2015). ''Bangladesh and the blue economy''[45]
  • -- (28 Feb, 2018). "Bangla Should Be a UN Language".[46]
  • -- (13 Feb, 2018). "Valentine's Day and an Anatomy of Love".[47]
  • -- (3 Nov, 2018). "Dhaka Translation Fest: A Window on the World".[48]
  • -- (24 Oct, 2018). "Rabindranath, Bangladesh and the Bangalee Diaspora"[49]
  • -- (10 May 2018). "Tagore And Bangladesh"[50]
  • -- (28 Apr, 2018). "Poet Belal Chowdhury: Our Grand Old Man of Poesy"[51]
  • -- (9 Nov, 2018). The birth of Dhaka Translation Fest (DTF)[52]
  • -- (10 Jan, 2020). "We don't know defeat"[53]
  • -- (3 Nov, 2019). "Establishing Int'l Publication and Translation Institute is a matter of urgency"[54]
  • -- (24 Oct, 2019). "Bangladesh and the Uncrowned Queen of Development"
  • -- (22 Sep, 2019). "7th ICSDAP Conference on Social Unrest, Peace and Development"[55]
  • -- (7 Mar 2020). ''Bangabandhu's 7 March Speech: The Power of Spoken Word''[56]
  • -- (30 Mar, 2020). "Life in the Time of Corona"[57]
  • -- (31 Mar, 2020). "Corona-phobia: Times of Stress and Angst"[58]
  • -- (05 Apr, 2020). ''The plague of COVID-19''[59]
  • -- (25 Sep 2020). The essential Vidyasagar: (On his 200th birth anniversary)[60]
  • -- (18 Oct, 2020). A flower born to blush unseen[61]
  • -- (31 May 2019). Dialogue of Asian civilizations: Uniting Asia and beyond[62]
  • -- (23 August 2015).Why write fiction in English[63]

Book review

  • "The Story of an Inspirational Figure"- a review by Askari of the biography of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by Syed Badrul Ahsan published by the Embassy of Bangladesh, Washington D.C. News on 15 Jan 2014.
  • A review of his book "Nineteen Seventy One" published by Rubric Publishing, New Delhi, India in 2019  has been published in the March–April 2019 edition of Indian Literature published by Sahitya Akademi, India.[64]
  • A review of the book "Nineteen Seventy One" published by the International Journal of Community and Social Development, written by Manohar Pawar, Professor of Social Work at Charles Sturt University, NSW, Australia, and the President of the International Consortium for Social Development.[30]
  • A review of the book--The Making of Mujib (2022) has been published in the Daily Star on June 9, 2022.[65]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "A brief history of Bangladeshi writing in English". The Missing Slate. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  2. ↑ Sun, Daily (21 August 2016). "Rashid Askari made IU VC". daily-sun. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019.
  3. 1 2 Toimoor, Muhammad Alamgir (9 December 2013). "Reflecting on post-war days". The Daily Star (Opinion). Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  4. 1 2 "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. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. 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. ↑ "IU teacher's book 'The Making of Mujib' published | The Asian Age Online, Bangladesh". The Asian Age. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  29. ↑ "Ex-IU VC Prof Rashid Askari edits PM's book 'My Father, My Bangladesh". Daily Sun. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  30. 1 2 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.
  31. ↑ 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.
  32. ↑ 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.
  33. ↑ Askari, Dr Rashid (3 August 2011). "Lottery -- A Short Story by Dr Rashid Askari". Contemporary Literary Review India. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
  34. ↑ "Jihad". Daily Sun. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  35. ↑ Chakravarty, Mitali (12 October 2019). "Short Story: The Disclosure". kitaab. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  36. ↑ WordPress.com, Blog at (31 March 2019). "Short Story: The virgin whore". Cafe Dissensus Everyday. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  37. ↑ "Forum". archive.thedailystar.net. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  38. ↑ "Tipaimukh Dam and Indian Hydropolitics". Forum. The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  39. ↑ "Intellectual killing and the war crimes of 1971". The Daily Star. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  40. ↑ "Mujib and the Declaration of Independence". The Daily Star. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  41. ↑ "The founder of Bangladesh". The Daily Star. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  42. ↑ "Liberation War facts". The Daily Star. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  43. ↑ "Tagore poetry in English". The Daily Star. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  44. ↑ "The crowded planet and the fate of mankind". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  45. ↑ "Bangladesh and the blue economy". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  46. ↑ "Bangla Should Be a UN Language". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  47. ↑ "Valentine's Day and an Anatomy of Love". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  48. ↑ "Dhaka Translation Fest: A Window on the World". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  49. ↑ "Rabindranath, Bangladesh and the Bangalee Diaspora". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  50. ↑ "Tagore and Bangladesh – Different Truths". Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  51. ↑ "Poet Belal Chowdhury: Our Grand Old Man of Poesy". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  52. ↑ "The birth of Dhaka Translation Fest (DTF)". Dhaka Courier. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  53. ↑ "'We don't know defeat'". The Daily Star. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  54. ↑ "Establishing Int'l Publication and Translation Institute is a matter of urgency". Daily Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  55. ↑ WordPress.com, Blog at (22 September 2019). "7th ICSDAP Conference on Social Unrest, Peace and Development". Cafe Dissensus Everyday. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  56. ↑ "Bangabandhu's 7 March Speech: The Power of Spoken Word". Daily Sun. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  57. ↑ 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.
  58. ↑ "Corona-phobia: Times of Stress and Angst". Daily Sun. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  59. ↑ "The plague of COVID-19". New Age. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  60. ↑ "The essential Vidyasagar: (On his 200th birth anniversary)". Dhaka Courier. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  61. ↑ "A flower born to blush unseen". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  62. ↑ "Dialogue of Asian civilizations: Uniting Asia and beyond". Dhaka Courier. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  63. ↑ "Why write fiction in English". www.observerbd.com. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  64. ↑ "Nineteen seventy one and other stories - Book Review". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  65. ↑ Nesa, Meherun (9 June 2022). "An intellectual biography of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman". The Daily Star. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  66. ↑ "Abul Hossain, Askari awarded for contribution to education sector". Daily Sun. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  67. ↑ "IU VC awarded 'Jononetri Sheikh Hasina Sommanona Padak-2019'". Daily Sun. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  68. ↑ "IU VC wins DU Alumni News Award". The Asian Age. Bangladesh. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  69. ↑ "Ex-IU VC wins Vidyasagar Award 2023". New Age | The Most Popular Outspoken English Daily in Bangladesh. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
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