A. N. M. Serajur Rahman (born 1934) is a Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

i journalist, broadcaster and Bangladeshi nationalist.

Education

Born in Noakhali

Noakhali District

Noakhali is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. It is located in the Chittagong Division.-Geography:Noakhali District located in Chittagong Division, Bangladesh...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, Rahman went to school in Calcutta, matriculating with distinction in 1947 from Mitra Institution. Rahman was actively involved in the Mukuler Mahfil Youth Organisation. He regularly published articles and short stories

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 in the youth sections of the Daily Azad, Daily Nabajug and Weekly Millat of Calcutta. He started his broadcasting career in Calcutta whilst still at school, participating regularly on programmes of All India Radio

All India Radio

All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...

.

After the partition of India

Partition of India

The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

 in 1947 he moved to Dhaka

Dhaka

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...

, East Pakistan

East Pakistan

East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...

, and was admitted to Dhaka College

Dhaka College

, located in Dhaka, is one of Bangladesh's earliest and most prestigious higher educational institutions. It offers both four years bachelor's and one years masters course in various majors, but it is best known for HSC...

. Rahman was actively involved in the Language Movement

Language Movement

The Bengali Language Movement, also known as the Language Movement , was a political effort in Bangladesh , advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as an official language of Pakistan...

 when it started in 1948. He was elected by his college to liaise with the Dhaka University

University of Dhaka

The University of Dhaka is the oldest university in Bangladesh. It is a multi-disciplinary research university and is among the top universities in the region. Established on July 21, 1921, as per the Government of India Act, 1920, it was modelled on the Universities in England and soon gained...

 Students' Action Committee.

Career

Rahman continued his career in journalism whilst at college. After serving in the news departments of the Bi-Weekly Pakistan, Daily Zindegi, Daily Insaf and the Daily Millat, he was appointed editor of the British Information Service in Dhaka in January 1953. Under his leadership the press section expanded to include 12 journalists. Rahman during this time also edited a daily bi-lingual

Multilingualism

Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...

 news bulletin

News program

A news program, news programme, news show, or newscast is a regularly scheduled radio or television program that reports current events. News is typically reported in a series of individual stories that are presented by one or more anchors...

, the fortnightly British Darpan (mirror) and the magazine Ajker Commonwealth. In addition to the BIS job Rahman was a part time

Part time

A part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. Workers are considered to be part time if they commonly work fewer than 30 or 35 hours per week...

 lead writer in the Daily Ittefaq from 1954 to end of 1959.

In January 1960 Rahman joined the then East Pakistan section of the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 World Service

BBC World Service

The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...

. By the time he retired in February 1994 he had risen to become the Deputy Head of the Bengali Section of the BBC World Service.

The BBC's Bengali broadcasts under Rahman's leadership during the liberation war of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Liberation War

The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....

 played a critical role in keeping people across the country informed about developments in the conflict. Rahman’s broadcasts were reputed as one of the only reliable sources of news – his voice becoming well known to the people of Bangladesh during the Bangladesh independence movement. In addition to this, Rahman helped to coordinate the liberation movement’s international publicity. His active and influential role in Bangladesh’s struggle for independence earned him close personal recognition from the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its...

, and the leaders of the new country.

Awards

His efforts have been recognised on several occasions, including through the award of the Ekushe Padak, Bangladesh's highest award for culture, in 2002.