Kamal Lohani dies of COVID-19

Tanzil Rahman | Published: 11:35, Jun 20,2020 | Updated: 00:46, Jun 21,2020

 
 

Kamal Lohani

Freedom fighter and cultural activist Kamal Lohani died of COVID-19 at Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute and Hospital in Dhaka on Saturday. He was 86.

He is survived by two daughters and a son.


Ekushey Padak-winning journalist Kamal Lohani was unwell for the last one month. He was hospitalised on May 17.

‘The hospital authorities took him off life support at 10:10am on Saturday. He was laid to rest at the family graveyard in our ancestral home at Ullahpara in Sirajganj,’ Sagar Lohani, son of Kamal Lohani, told New Age.

Earlier, his swab samples were collected on May 30 to run COVID-19 tests and the result came out negative on June 1.

‘He was discharged from the hospital on June 2. Then he was well for a week, but later his health worsened again,’ said his son.

He was admitted to Health and Hope Hospital at Panthapath on Wednesday with complications of kidney, lung and heart. His swab samples were collected for COVID-19 test on the day and the authorities informed his family of the test result on Friday morning which came out positive.

He was rushed to Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute and Hospitalon Friday afternoon and put on life support, Sagar Lohani said.

President Md Abdul Hamid and prime minister Sheikh Hasina along with her cabinet members expressed deep shock at the death of Kamal Lohani, who served as the news editor at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra in 1971.

Besides, Tawqi Mancha, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Dhaka Union of Journalists and different socio-political organisations also expressed condolences at the death of Kamal Lohani.

His body was kept at Bangladesh Udichi Shilpighosthi central office for half an hour. Following which, his body was taken to Ullahpara, Sirajganj. He was buried there after the namaz-e-janaza following COVID-19 burial protocol.

People from different walks of life wait in a queue to pay tribute to cultural activist and journalist Kamal Lohani in front of Udichi Shilpigoshthi office in Dhaka on Saturday. — New Age photo

 

Kamal Lohani was born on June 26, 1934 at Shantala village of Ullahpara upazila in Sirajganj. He grew up witnessing India’s independence movement, the partition in 1947, the 1952 Language  Movement and the political development leadinbg to the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971.

He was a journalist and journalist union leader for more than 60 years. He was also president of Dhaka Journalist Union. Lohani started his journalism career at the daily Millat in 1955. Later he worked in various newspapers including Azad, Sangbad, Purbadesh, Dainik Barta and others in his long journalism career.

He devoted his life to cultural movement through Chhayanaut, Kranti Shilpigoshthi, Ganashilpi Sangstha and Udichi Shilpigoshthi and others.

He was imprisoned time and again for his political activism. He participated in the language movement, liberation war and anti-military rule movements.

He served as the news editor at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra during the tumultuous days of the liberation war.

He joined Chhayanaut in 1962 and served as the general secretary of the cultural organisation. Later, he established Kranti Shilpighosthi in 1967.

He was also the first president of Bangladesh Journalist Union. He was the director of Bangladesh Press Institute and served as director general of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy twice from 1991 to 1992 and 2009 to 2011. He was the president of Bangladesh Udichi Shilpighosthi from 2012 to 2016.

He tried to make people aware about their rights and dedicated his life in building a democratic, secular and freethinking society.

He was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 2015.

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