Salahuddin Ahmed obituary

My uncle, Salahuddin Ahmed, who has died aged 90, was a historian, a humanist and a rationalist a rare combination in his native Bangladesh. He believed that such values are ingrained in all of us, but submerged under learned prejudices. In 2011 he was appointed National Professor of Bangladesh for his outstanding contribution to education.

Son of Abu Ahmed Faizul Mohi and Akefa Khatun, he was born in Faridpur, Bangladesh. His father and paternal grandfather were both civil servants during the days of the British Raj and his maternal grandfather, Azizul Haq, carried out key work on the classification of fingerprints. Salahuddin studied for a BA at Kolkata Presidency College, a masters degree at Kolkata University and a PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. He taught at various educational institutions in Bangladesh, and was a visiting lecturer at the universities of Chicago and Pennsylvania.