Dr Sanjida Khatun
(1933-2025)
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Dr Sanjida Khatun
(1933-2025)
Dr Sanjida Khatun, the president of Chhayanaut and a pioneer of cultural movement in Bangladesh, passed away at Square Hospital in Dhaka at 3:10pm yesterday. She was 91.
The Ekushey Padak-winning Rabindra Sangeet artiste had been battling diabetes, pneumonia, and kidney complications for some time and had been under hospital care for the past week.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. Her daughter-in-law, Laisa Ahmad Lisa, who also serves as Chhayanaut’s general secretary, confirmed the news of her passing to The Daily Star.
As per Chhayanaut’s announcement, a public tribute will be held today at 12:30pm at the Chhayanaut Cultural Centre in Dhanmondi, where admirers and well-wishers will pay their final respects to the eminent cultural figure who shaped Bangladesh’s cultural consciousness.
Sanjida’s name was synonymous with Chhayanaut. Her death comes just weeks before her 92nd birthday and this year’s Pahela Baishak celebrations. With her presence at Chhayanaut’s Pahela Baishakh celebrations and countless cultural programmes over the decades, she became a symbol of resilience and inspiration.
Even in the most turbulent times of Bangladesh’s history, she ensured that Chhayanaut remained a sanctuary for artistic expression.
All her life, this remarkable cultural personality stood against injustice and spoke out during times of national crisis. As a student of Dhaka University, she became actively involved in the 1952 Language Movement and later in the 1971 Liberation War.
Sanjida Khatun began her professional career as a teacher. After her postgrad, she taught at Eden College, Carmichael College, and Dhaka University’s Bangla department before retiring.
Sanjida was born on April 4, 1933. Her father, National Professor Kazi Motahar Hossain, was a renowned academic and her mother, Sajeda Khatun, was a homemaker. Growing up in an environment steeped in literature, music, and progressive thought, she developed a deep connection with Bangalee culture from a young age.
She completed her undergraduate degree in Bangla Language and Literature at Dhaka University in 1954 before pursuing a master’s degree at Visva-Bharati University in India. In 1978, she earned a PhD from the same institution, advancing her status as a scholar in Bangla art and culture.
While academics was only one aspect of her illustrious life, music was her soul’s calling. A disciple of legendary musicians such as Sohrab Hossain, Shailajaranjan Majumdar, Abdul Ahad, Kanika Bandyopadhyay, and Nilima Sen, she mastered Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Sangeet, and Bangla folk music.
Her passion led her to co-found Chhayanaut in the early 1960s, an institution dedicated to preserving and promoting Bangalee music and cultural traditions.
During the 1971 Liberation War, she played a crucial role in forming Bangladesh Mukti Sangrami Shilpi Sangstha, using music as a tool of resistance against oppression. Throughout her life, she remained steadfast in her belief that culture was not merely an aesthetic pursuit but a medium for social change.
Honoured with numerous accolades, she received the Ekushey Padak, one of Bangladesh’s highest civilian awards, for her outstanding contributions to music and culture. In 2021, her influence crossed borders as she was awarded India’s Padma Shri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian honour.
Yet, beyond the accolades and recognition, Sanjida Khatun was, at her core, a devoted teacher and mentor. She believed in nurturing young talent and ensuring that future generations carried forward the rich legacy of Bangalee music and culture. “The joy of this movement exceeded all the demands of life,” she once said about her work at Chhayanaut. “I am blessed and content with this simple life.”
As the nation bids farewell to this luminary, her voice may have fallen silent, but her influence continues to resonate. Her work, her teachings, and her unwavering belief in the power of culture will live on in the hearts of those she inspired.
Today, as admirers gather to honour her memory, they will not only be saying goodbye to a beloved cultural icon but also celebrating a life that enriched the very soul of a nation.
“Ninety years of my life have passed, and today, I am thinking about what I wanted to achieve and how it actually went, and I am blessed and content with this simple life,” she shared across a houseful auditorium of Chhayanaut on her 90th birthday in 2023.
Two years later, the nation mourns her passing, but her legacy remains untouched.
