Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, passing of a legend

Many people die every day but a very few of them leave indelible mark behind them. Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury was one of them who the country will never forget because of his contributions to our Liberation War and a number of sectors, especially the health sector. He was a valiant freedom fighter, a physician, a public health activist, a political observer and what not.

He will be remembered mostly for his role in the Liberation War of the country and as a founder of Gonoshasthaya Kendra. Firstly, he was an avid and passionate nationalist. When our Liberation War broke out in 1971 he was studying his FRCS in London. A 30-year-old man couldn’t but to respond to the call of the country’s Liberation War. He took a flight from London to land in Delhi.

He was one of the founders of Bangladesh Field Hospital at Agartala, India, to train a group of volunteers to prepare them as paramedics to help freedom fighters and refugees. He was one of those who were sure of independence of East Pakistan from the clutch of the near-colonial rule of West Pakistan. It was evident when in April 1971 he tore his Pakistani passport to pieces at a rally at the Hyde

Park in London.

It was of course a seditious act in the eyes of Pakistani rulers but he didn’t, for once, thought about what would happen to him if East Pakistan couldn’t liberated. He instantly became a stateless citizen which he was not at all worried about. It was this passionate patriotism of his that drove him to establish Gonoshasthaya Kendra to help the health sector that was in a sorry state in a

war-ravaged country.

After the building of the Gonoshasthaya Kendra he has never had to look back. He continued his endeavor to contribute to the pharmaceutical sector of the country. It was for this contribution he held the position of chief advisor of the expert committee for Bangladesh National Medical Policy in 1982. It was this committee that was instrumental in putting a ban on seventeen hundred dangerous and unnecessary drugs through the formation of the

Essential Drugs Act.

Gonoshasthaya Kendra’s motto ‘Go to village, build village’ conveys the clear message of his focus. His sole aim was to serve poor people living in remote villages. His sympathy and empathy for poor people is the key to his project and works. He felt for them and he tried to get closer to them to help them when they were in need of help. He not only trained volunteers he also indoctrinated them to go door to door of poor people to help them get their basic healthcare. It was this kind, compassionate and humanistic approach that has confirmed his place in the hearts of

millions of people.

Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury was also a writer. Many of his articles were published in national and international journals. He might be remembered as a writer for his research book titled ‘A Method of Colonisation’ which was translated into Bangla, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and many Indian languages. He had had many national and international awards to his credit. He received the highest civilian honor of the Bangladesh government, the Independence Award in 1977.

To the last day of his life Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury was a man of integrity, honesty and hard work. We will remember him as one of the greatest heroes of our time.