The 12th death anniversary of renowned nuclear scientist and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s husband Dr. M A Wazed Miah will be observed today.
The nuclear scientist with international repute was born on February 16, 1942 in a respectable Muslim family of village Laldighee Fatehpur in Pirganj upazila of the district. He died on May 9, 2009.
He was laid to eternal rest with full state honour at their family graveyard in his paternal village Laldighee Fatehpur.
Due to the present global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic situation, different organisations will observe the day with limited scale programmes abiding by the health directives.
The main programmes include placing wreaths at the grave of Dr Wazed on limited scale, offering Fateha and munajats seeking divine blessings for the departed soul, discussions, milad mahfils and distribution of Iftar items among orphans.
Pirganj upazila Awami League (AL), Dr MA Wazed Foundation, family of Dr Wazed, Pirganj upazila administration and other organisations will observe the death anniversary on a limited scale abiding by the health directives.
Dr Wazed Smriti Sangsad (DWSS) will place wreaths at the grave of Dr Wazed at village Laldighee Fatehpur, offer Fateha and munajats seeking divine blessings for eternal peace of his departed soul.
“We will arrange milad mahfils abiding by the health directives at Keramotia Jam-e-Mosque and other mosques in Rangpur city,” said General Secretary of DWSS Saiful Islam Jahangir.
Pirganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Biroda Rani Roy said the upazila administration will place wreaths at the grave of Dr Wazed and arrange a discussion followed by milad mahfil and distribution of Iftar items at Gopinathpur Hafizia Madrasha and Orphanage.
According to family sources, Dr Wazed was the youngest among four sons and three daughters of Abdul Quader Miah.
He studied up to class four at the primary school at his native village and then up to class six at a high school in Pirganj town.
He passed matriculation examinations from Rangpur Zila School in 1956 obtaining first division with distinctions and then enrolled in Rajshahi Government College from where he passed the Higher Secondary Certificate Examinations.
Wazed Miah was admitted to the Department of Physics at Dhaka University in 1958 and secured first class first position in both B.Sc. (honours) and M.Sc. examinations in 1961 and 1962 respectively.
He joined the then Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission on April 9, 1963 and obtained his diploma from Imperial College of London in 1963-1964.
Wazed Miah returned home in September, 1967 after obtaining his Ph.D. degree in physics from Durham University in the United Kingdom and joined as a Scientific Officer at the Atomic Energy Research Centre in Dhaka.
Later, he was engaged in post-doctoral research from November 1969 to 1970 in London.
Dr. Wazed Miah married Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on November 17, 1967.
They have a son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and a daughter Saima Wazed Putul.
In 1969, Dr. Wazed got the associate-ship of Italy-based International Theoretical Physics Research Centre of Nobel Laureate Professor Dr. Salam where he engaged in a research project.
He returned home the same year to work with the Atomic Energy Research Centre.
In 1975, he was in West Germany to pursue higher training on atomic reactor science. Sheikh Hasina was also with him at that time.
Dr. Wazed conducted research work at New Delhi-based laboratory of Indian Atomic Energy Commission from 1975 to 1982.
On return home, the nuclear scientist, who has a colourful working life experience, rejoined the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and retired as its chairman in 1999.
Apart from his publications on scientific research and nuclear science, Dr Wazed authored a number of books on social and political issues, including one on the memories of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
