Momtazuddin Ahmed (philosopher)

Momtazuddin Ahmed was a Bangladeshi philosopher and educationist.

Early life and education

Ahmed was born to a Bengali Muslim family from Brahmanbaria in the erstwhile Tippera District of eastern Bengal. He studied in Dhaka University and obtained MA in philosophy in 1927. In 1937 he earned his PhD degree in philosophy from University College London. His research for dissertation was on metaphysics and logic under the advisers John Cook Wilson and Bradley Stamp.

Career

Academia

Ahmed began his career as a lecturer at Dhaka University and later became the Head of the Department of Philosophy. He left the University in 1939 to become the first Muslim Principal of Dhaka College. He later served as the principal of Rajshahi College during 1945 to 1950. He then moved to Dhaka as Assistant Director of Public Instructions. He was elevated to the position of the Director of Public Instructions of East Pakistan in 1952, and in 1956 was appointed Education Adviser to the Government of Pakistan and concurrently held the position of the permanent secretary, Ministry of Education and Culture, Pakistan Government. He was appointed the Vice Chancellor of Rajshahi University in 1957 and stayed in the position until 1965.

Governmental

Some of Ahmed's national and international affiliations include the following.

Member of the Commission on National Education
Member of the Pakistan Commission on Students Welfare
Member of the Board of Trustees of the Pakistan National Press Trust
Member of the Board of Governors of the Central Institute of Islamic Research
Member of the Central Board for the Development of Bengali
President of the Inter-University Board in erstwhile Pakistan
President of the Eighth Congress of the Pakistan Philosophical Society, Karachi
President of the Pakistan Philosophical Congress
Member of the Dhaka University Syndicate
Member of Islamabad University Senate

International

Ahmed represented the Government of Pakistan in many international initiatives, in bi-lateral and multilateral dialogues, conferences and fora including leading high level government delegations. These include leading delegations to Turkey, Iraq, Burma, Uruguay, India, Canada, France, the UK, the US to name some of them. He acted in the executive boards of international organizations and philanthropic foundations namely, the UNESCO General Conference in New Delhi in 1957 where he was elected a member of the Executive Board of UNESCO, the Nuffield Foundation, UK, and others. He also attended the International Conference on Education in Geneva in 1956. Dr. Ahmed had been special guest to the Bukigham Palace and to the White House. He died in Dhaka.

Legacy

Rajshahi University has named its Arts Building as Momtaz Uddin Academic Building after him in appreciation of his contributions to the institution.