Badiuzzaman :
Mohammad Barkatullah (1898-1974), essayist, prose writer, was born on March 2 in 1898 at Ghorasal in Pabna. His father was Haji Azam Ali. Barkatullah studied at Shahjadpur High School and Rajshahi College. He then joined Presidency College to do BA Honours in Philosophy and MA (1920). He qualified for the Bengal Civil Service and served it in various capacities.
During the Pakistan period, he was posted as Additional District Magistrate at Faridpur, Kushtia, and Mymensingh. In 1951, he was appointed Deputy Secretary. After he retired from this post in 1955, he joined Bangla Academy as Director, and served in this capacity till 1957.
Despite his administrative responsibilities, Barkatullah found time to write. Among his books are Parosyo Protibha (essays, 1st vol, 1924 and 2nd Vol, 1932), Manuser Dhormo (Philosophical Essays, 1934), Karbala O Imam Boangser Itihas (History, 1957), Nabigriho Songbad, Makka Khondo (Biography, 1960), Noya Jatir Sroshta Hazrat Muhammad (Biography, 1963), Hazrat Osman (Biography, 1968), Bangla Sahitye Muslim Dhara (1969).
He wrote lucidly and was able to discuss difficult philosophical ideas in easy prose. For his contribution to prose, he received several awards, among them the Bangla Academy Award for essay writing (1960), the Daud Prize (1960) for Noya Jatir Srosta Hazrat Muhammad, the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (1962), and the President’s Award (1970).
He breathed his last in Dhaka on 2nd November in 1974. n
