Remembering Muhammad Ayubur Rahman Bhuyan
People pass, but their love and care stay with us forever. Today we are honoring and remembering Muhammad Ayubur Rahman Bhuyan, former professor of economics at Dhaka University, who died 10 May 2021.
Dr Bhuyan was an economist, scholar, academic, researcher, author, and a noble soul. He faced many twists and turns in this profession over the years.
He served as a chairman of the Department of Economics under Dhaka University from May 1983 to September 1987 and is remembered by his students who retained a lot from his eloquent style of teaching.
Since the beginning of his career, Bhuyan has been passionate about research and has published features in numerous reputed journals.
In 1979, in his book review of Economic Integration in South Asia: An Exploratory Study, gained recognition for analysing economic outcomes of a conceivable customs union among the South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. He had a vast knowledge of international trade.
His nephew Mohammad Ashraful Islam Khan said, "I have a lot of memories with him. Mama had a huge influence on our education and our lives. I was brought up in my village, and I have seen that mama was treated with great respect by the villagers. He was always honored as a chief guest in all the cultural programmes, sporting events, etc. He tried his best to help the people. His relatives were indebted to him for his generosity."
He was an advisor of Wadud bhuyan Scolaship trust, where his nephew am one of the trustees. Wadud Bhuyan Scholarship Trust, Kaliganj, was founded in 2009 with a vision to foster and support the field of formal education. All the trustees were grateful to him. The way he guided and advised many affairs helped us move forward in the trust's activities. He was almost always a presenter at the trustee board meeting.
"I talked to some of his students about his teaching, behaviour, morality, punctuality, etc. and all I received were overwhelming positive responses from all. His students are now in different parts of the world. One student shared his experience with me: he fell in love with economics, thanks to Bhuyan's in-depth knowledge and his compassionate teaching style", added his nephew.
Bhuyan was very approachable and always took care of the students.
Indeed, Dr Bhuyan was one of the few eminent economists of post-independence Bangladesh who had admirable mastery, persistent thirst for research and perfection in his teachings. Dr Bhuiyan was not a fan of media or publicity, so we did not see him make media appearances much.
"After retiring from the University of Dhaka, Mama stayed home most of the time. He loved to write on his desktop computer with a large screen. After retiring, he had offers to teach at private universities, but he did not join anywhere. He doubed the quality of education of some private universities", said Mohammad Ashraful.
"Mama encouraged me and helped me practice reading books like children's literature and detective books. He had a massive collection of books at home, almost like a mini library. Thousands of books are lying at home even today. He also donated many books to different libraries", he added.
Dr Bhuyan was a practicing Muslim. He used to recite the Qur'an. He was of moderate religious beliefs. He was never involved in political activity. On 14 December 1971, he lost a few of his friends and colleagues. The day when Albadar seized scholars from the University Club, he luckily was able to save himself.
He is remembered by his spouse, his daughter and two sons and countless well-wishers who mourn him. He prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed spirit and conveyed sympathy to the grieving family.
