Prof Shamsul Huq
Had it not been for my stint in Bangladesh Institute of strategic studies I did not in any way qualify to come his across and to be in the coveted company of a person of his distinction. Prior it I only once met him in Quetta Staff College where he came as a guest speaker in 1970 while he was a central minister for education. Twelve years later I saw him as the Chairman, board of governors of the institute I was seconded to. That marked the beginning of a relationship -- one that develops between a sage and his disciple -- lasting till his death.
Even when our official link snapped subsequently I continued to be attracted by his enormous human qualities with which he always treated me. I had innumerable intimate sessions with him either in a familiar ambience of his Eskaton Garden House or his Nilkhet retreat of FREPED. We exchanged views on life, society and politics and every time I came back wiser. At times, he would refer to some of my views expressed in my column in The Daily Star. But he was always charitable in his comments about his juniors and their works.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Last time when I met Prof Huq I requested him for his 'Foreword' for my book SOUTH ASIA IN PERSPECTIVE his face beamed up with a divine glow heightening it up as he struggled to dictate it from his sick bed. I perhaps would have seen another divine glow in his face. But alas! The book reached the Ekushey Book Fair the day he breathed his last.
In the present social and political milieu we will have to resurrect Prof Huq's legacy of wisdom, tolerance and conciliation again and again to bail this country out of the morass it is stuck in. Basically an educationist he made deep imprint in foreign policy making and his is the most authentic book on the subject. His 'Bangladesh in International Politics' is almost a text book for any foreign policy practitioner in this country.
In this ephemeral life Prof Huq had nothing more to desire. But his soul would rest in peace where his values would be upheld by future progeny.