Dr Captain (retired) Syed Ahmed Mortada :
Dr Akhteruddin Ahmed, the then Civil Surgeon of Sylhet established Sylhet Medical School, almost single handed, in 1948. He fulfilled the long felt need for a medical school in the then Sylhet district town surmounting many challenges and heavy odds.
In 1962, Sylhet Medical College was upgraded to Sylhet Medical College and after the emergence of independent Bangladesh it was renamed Sylhet Osmany Memorial Medical College.
Son of Kamaruddin, Akhteruddin Ahmed was born in 1895 in the village of Sultanpur, Kulaura, under the District of Moulvibazar. He died on May 10, 1970. Akhteruddin qualified for the Entrance Examination in 1911 from Kulaura Nabinchandra High School of Assam Board. His school was 10 miles from his home. He used to walk to and from the school every day. After qualifying in Intermediate from City College, Calcutta, in the First Division, he was accepted as a student at the Calcutta Medical College, from where he graduated in MBBS with flying colours.
Dr Akhteruddin’s first employment was in a shipping company for a brief period. Thereafter, he was selected to the Assam Provincial Medical Service, thus becoming the first Muslim officer with a MBBS degree to serve the medical service. During his long years in service, he was posted to many towns in the then Assam, including Nagalnd, Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Manipur, Lusai (Hills), Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, from 1922 to 1951. Finally, in 1951, after partition, he was posted in Sylhet district town as the Senior Civil Surgeon.
The history of the establishment of Sylhet Medical School goes back to the British period. There was a strong and popular demand from the people of Sylhet for a university and a medical college which would develop into a medical college in due course. At that time, the only medical school located in Assam was in Dibrugarh. To appease the people of Sylhet, the then Chief Minister, Sir Syed Saadullah, allocated 15 seats for Muslim students of Surma Valley, Sylhet and Kachar, out of 50 seats at the Dibrugarh Medical School. This concession did not satisfy the Sylhetis. They became more vocal for getting a medical college in Sylhet town, instead of a medical school. However, the British government approved the establishment of a medical school in Sylhet, not a medical college. Following completion of bureaucratic formalities, the construction work started in the latter part of 1940 and the project was almost completed. But, another roadblock came on the way of completion and opening of the medical school. This important event was the referendum in which people of Sylhet district opted to join Pakistan, which pushed this issue to the background, and remained almost forgotten for some time.
Soon after Sylhet joined Pakistan, Dr Akhteruddin Ahmed was posted in Sylhet as the Civil Surgeon. He did not waste time to take up the issue of Sylhet Medical School, to follow -up on the earlier decision of the Assam Provincial Government. By that time, the physical construction was completed and awaited its formal opening. Dr Akhteruddin sent an urgent letter to the East Pakistan Government seeking permission for formal opening and admission of the first batch of students. However, to the surprise of all, the relevant authorities sent a telegram instructing him not to open the Medical School. It was an unexpected and bitter blow to Dr Ahmed and to the people of Sylhet. He realised that his dream and that of the people of Sylhet, would not be fulfilled if he blindly accepted the order of the government. He knew that his time was running out as he was very close to retirement. So, if he did not accomplish his mission of launching the medical school, very soon, this dream would remain a dream, as none would think about defying the government order.
Dr Ahmed, a crusader of the legitimate rights of the people of Sylhet, took the decision to open the medical school as a private institution, come what may. Without finishing his lunch, he went to his office with the offending telegram. He began preparations to complete all logistical, financial and internal infrastructural works. In other words, everything required to start the medical school. His office staff, many colleagues, friends and well wishers came forward to help him in this endeavour.
Sylhet Medical School, with Dr Akhteruddin as founding principal and a handful of dedicated doctors and staff, was opened on July 1, 1948, just a few months after the Sylhet Referendum. The next day, he went from house to house to convince eligible students to apply for admission. Thus, the medical school started with a handful of students but with the wholehearted support of the people of Sylhet. Some of the brave doctors who joined the school were, Dr Jamshed Bakht, Dr Abdul Momith Choudhury and Dr Bashirullah.
The doctors of Police Hospital, Jail Hospital, Infectious Diseases Hospital started taking classes in their free time.
The news soon reached the medical authorities in Dhaka. Dr Akhteruddin was immediately summoned to Dhaka to appear before the authorities. They were not satisfied with Dr Ahmed’s explanation. They wanted to take a strong position to establish the authority of the government in Sylhet. However, wiser heads suggested a more cautious policy. They were well aware that Dr Ahmed’s bold decision to open the medical schoolenjoyed overwhelmingly support of all in Sylhet, who considered Dr Ahmed a hero for standing up to the authorities.
Political leaders of all parties also knew that supporting the government’s decision, would make them unpopular and harm their political reputation in the district. So, they gave him active and passive support. In consideration of these factors, the authorities thought of another method to remove Dr Ahmed from Sylhet.They informed him that the government has been pleased to promote him to the position of Deputy Surgeon General, which would require him to go to Dhaka to take up his new position. Dr Ahmed immediately declined the promotion and pleaded to be allowed to remain in Sylhet until his retirement. He had the farsight to understand that the authorities were eager to remove him from Sylhet to shut down the new medical school which was in fragile condition.
When Dr Akhteruddin firmly refused the promotion, the authorities then decided to punish him. His salary was withheld. This did not scare him but made him more determined to run the medical school as principal without pay. Most of the doctors and staff lent their full support keep the medical school running. He finally won as the authorities accepted the medical school.
He spent out of his pocket, worked without pay and invested all his time, energy and effort to make Sylhet Medical School a good centre of learning. Parents were eager to send their children to the Sylhet Medical School, where they could study safely without travelling to Dibrugarh.
At last, in the last quarter of 1948, Chief Minister Khawja Nazimuddin, decided to inaugurate Sylhet Medical School, at that time, located where now stands Abu Sinha Hostel inside the Old Hospital Campus, near Darga Mohalla.
Dr M Qaiyum, Dr Abbasuddin Ahmed, Dr M A. Martin were the first batch students, while Dr Naiyar Uddin Ahmed, Dr Shafiquar Rahman, Dr Abdul Haque were in the second batch.
Many names have been lost in time. Due to the efforts of Dr Ahmed, his associates and continuous agitations of the people, the authorities finally decided to upgrade this medical school to Sylhet Medical College in 1962.
Dr Akhteruddin Ahmed and his colleagues were able to relinquish their heavy responsibilities to the new college administration. Hi tireless hard work took a heavy toll on his health and he died on May, 10, 1970. But, he died peacefully knowing that his long hard work had paid.
Strange as it may seem, there are no official records about Dr Akhteruddin Ahmed’s invaluable contribution to the establishment of Sylhet Medical School, from where the Medical College and subsequently, the present Hospital and College developed. The official “history” of Osmani Medical College and Hospital does not mention Dr Akhteruddin Ahmed and his contribution in settiin up Sylhet Medical School.
It is quite unfortunate that no building, hostel, has been named in to honour Dr Ahmed.
Helen Keller’s words, ‘The world is moving not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the tiny aggregates of the creation of its honest workers’ are apt to describe Dr Ahmedand his forgotten deed.
(The writer was a second batch student of the Sylhet Medical School, the write up was expanded by former ambassador Humayun Kamal, grandson-in-law of Dr Akhteruddin Ahmed).
