M Matiur Rahman Mamun

Rabindranath Tagore came to Patisar and realized that there was no treatment system for the desolate,

helpless, and poor people of this area when they fell ill. Prayer to God was the only way to get rid of

diseases. From that thought, Tagore founded a charity hospital in Patisar. Rabindranath was diagnosed

with prostate cancer towards the end of his life, but cancer treatment was insufficient.

These words were spoken by Professor Golam Abu Zakaria, the writer, and researcher who received the

Bangla Academy medal and Ex-Chairman and Chief Medical Physicist, Gummersbach Teaching Hospital,

University of Cologne in Germany. He paid tribute to Rabindranath Tagore’s work and expressed his

determination to establish a “Rabindra Cancer Centre and Research Institute” in the poet’s name in the

unrecognized, neglected Patisar. The objective is to treat terminal diseases like cancer for the backward

masses. People in rural areas are still deprived of access to medical care. Even if rural girls are suffering

from terminal diseases like breast and cervical cancer, they do not want to talk about it. Professor Zakaria

and his established “Alo Bhubon Trust” will be forever honored for planning such an institution in Patisar.

It needs to be said that in Bangladesh, every year about three lakh people are affected by cancer. Out of

this, about two and a half lakh people die due to the lack of proper treatment.We are suffering financial loss due to having to go outside the country for treatment. This cancer scientist thinks that the only way to get rid of cancer is to create a way to study about cancer in Bangladesh. If he gets a chance, he will work on cancer studies, for this he needs government patronage and the support of the country’s scholars.

Although patriotism and respect for soil and people, it is possible to work for the beloved motherland in any part of the world,

Pro, dr. Golam abu Zakaria

and Rabindranuragi cancer scientist Professor Golam Abu Zakaria is an example. When he was young Dr. Zakaria’s grandfather Mr. Amir Ali used to call him “Gora”. Professor Golam Abu

Zakaria was born on 31 December 1953, in Ikarkuri village of Naogaon district. He had early education at

Naogaon K.D.High School (1963-1968); HSC at Rajshahi Government College (1969-1970). He was a

student at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) during 1970-1972 and after

the independence of Bangladesh in 1972 he got an opportunity to study in Germany on a scholarship. He

studied Physics at the University Halle-Wittenberg leading to a Diploma and Master’s Degree with a

specialization in Medical Physics (1976-1978). Dr. Zakaira was Research Fellow and completed post-

graduate studies at the Department of Radiation Physics and Biology, University Hospital, University of

Goettingen, Germany (1979-1980). He completed his Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg in 1985 and

worked as Principal Medical Physicist at the Department of Radiotherapy and Nuclear medicine at

Gummersbach Teaching Hospital, University of Cologne, Germany. He founded the Bangladesh Study and

Development Centre in Germany in 1996 out of a strong affection for the people of the country and a

sense of respect for the nation. He started and supervised a full-fledged Master’s course in Medical Physics

and Biomedical Engineering officially at 2001 in Bangladesh.

This renowned Medical Physicist has published more than 100 research papers on medical physics in

German. He is working with various cancer experts and scientists in the world as a team, with the aim of

expanding cancer treatment in Bangladesh. Professor Zakaria has immersed himself in literary pursuits

outside of scientific studies. He has established an organization called the “Bangladesh Study and

Development Centre ” to introduce Bengali literature writers and poets to Germans. He has published

many books in German, edited “Life and Work of the Bengali Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam” in German in 1999

based on the songs and poems of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. He edited in Bengali “Globalization and

Bangladesh” in 2001, and wrote in the German language on Begum Rokeya in 2006. He wrote “Rokeya

Sakhawat Hossain: Portrait of a Bengali Female Humanist” and “Rabindranath Tagore: Wanderer Between

Worlds” at 2011 in German on Rabindranath Tagore, which have been acclaimed all over the world.

Another research book “Founding Father, Social Reformer and Visionary” has been published for advanced

research on the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu, in Germany. The honorable ambassador Mr. Md.

Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, NDC unveiled the cover of the research book written on Bangabandhu.

In the 2023 Amar Ekushe Book Fair, the “Alo Bhubon Trust” has published a memoir book titled “Professor

Zakaria in Fan Memoirs: Pioneer of Medical Physics in Bangladesh” which includes writings from many

talented writers from Dhaka and outside Dhaka. The book will help a lot to know the history of cancer

treatment and cancer research in Bangladesh.

Out of social responsibility for the poor, helpless, and illiterate people of the village, he established the

“Ikarkuri High School” at Naogaon in 1999. He also established a Maternal and Child Health Care Centre in

2009, where medical care was provided to pregnant mothers and children. I got to know him through

Rabindra Research. Although he is a physicist by profession, he is passionate about literature and has

conducted extensive research on the literature of Rabindranath Tagore.

In 2011, he played a leading role in the creation of the historical sculpture of Rabindranath at the age of seventy-six, which is commendable. I said historical because Rabindranath came to Patisar on July 27,

1937. On that day, the sick poet addressed thousands of people. At the age of seventy-six, four years

before his death, the poet wept in his last farewell address from Patisar, and thousands of subjects wept

as the city carried away his beloved passenger in tears. After that day, Rabindranath never had the good

Professor Zakaria, former MP Israfil Alam and writer M Matiur Rahman Mamun were present at the Rabindra sculpture unveiling ceremony in Patisar of Naogaon on May 7, 2011. Photo: M Matiur Rahman,

fortune to come to Patisar or Bengal again. The sculpture was made to keep the painful memory of that

day alive. In the 90s, this physicist worked on the state preservation of Patisar Rabindra Kachari House. His

wish was to have a public university in Patisar. His wish is to work for the people of the country till the end of his life.

Author is a Tagore Researcher and activist,