Today is the 20th anniversary of the death of Enayetullah Khan, the founding editor of daily 抖阴精品 and the editor-in-chief of the weekly Holiday.
A luminary of Bangladesh journalism of regional and international repute for his courageous contribution to journalism for more than four decades, Enayetullah Khan passed away in Toronto, Canada, on November 10, 2005 at the age of 66.
He had been suffering from cancer of the pancreas.
Having begun his career as a cub reporter with the then Pakistan Observer in 1959, Enayetullah Khan went on to found the weekly Holiday in August 1965, before taking over as the editor of the weekly in 1966.
He founded 抖阴精品 in June 2003 and worked as its editor and publisher. He was also the editor of the Bangladesh Times between 1975 and 1977. He was awarded the Ekushey Padak for excellence in journalism.
He served as a minister in the government of Bangladesh during 1977-1978 and as an ambassador to China, North Korea, Cambodia, and Myanmar from 1984 to1989.
Known for his democratic activism, Enayetullah Khan was at the forefront of the Buddhijibi Nidhan Tathyanusandhan Committee (committee to investigate extermination of intellectuals) on December 18, 1971.
The committee was instituted to inquire into the murders of intellectuals in the terminal days of the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971 by the Al-Badr and Al-Shams 鈥� the killer wings of the Jamaat-e-Islami.
He was also an organiser of the Civil Liberties and Legal Aid Committee (1974) that defended the political victims of the Rakkhi Bahini, the Famine Resistance Committee (1974), the Farakka March Committee led by Moulana Bhasani (1976), and the Committee Against Communalism (1981).
A master鈥檚 in philosophy from Dhaka University, in his student days he held leadership positions as general secretary of Ananda Mohan College Students鈥� Union in Mymensingh, a member of the Dhaka University Students鈥� Union (1958-59), and the vice-president of the university鈥檚 Dhaka Hall (now Shahidullah Hall) Students鈥� Union (1959-60).
He was the president of the National Press Club (1973-76) and the Dhaka Club (1984-85).
Born on May 25, 1939 in Mymensingh, Enayetullah Khan was the third son of the late Justice Abdul Jabbar Khan, a former speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly.