Tofail Ahmed no more

Veteran politician and former commerce minister Tofail Ahmed passed away on Monday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in the capital. He was 82.
He breathed his last around 3:30pm at Square Hospital.
According to his family members and close associates, Tofail Ahmed, one of the most celebrated student leaders of his time, had been suffering from various age-related health complications for a long time.
He was admitted to the hospital on 24 September last year after developing pneumonia-related breathing difficulties, cardiac problems, and physical weakness.
He left behind a daughter and countless well-wishers to mourn his death.
His mortal remains have been kept at the mortuary of Square Hospital following the holding of his first namaz-e-janaza at the Taqwa Mosque in Dhanmondi after the Maghrib prayer on Monday.
He will be flown to Bhola by a helicopter. His second namaz-e-janaza will be held at the Bhola Zilla School field and later he will be laid to eternal rest at the family graveyard at Dakkhin Dighaldi village beside his parents’ graves.
Born on 22 October 1943 to Moulvi Azhar Ali and Fatema Begum in Koralia village of Dakkhin Dighaldi union under Bhola Sadar Upazila, Tofail Ahmed studied at Brajamohan College in Barishal before earning both his undergraduate 
and postgraduate degrees in soil science from Dhaka University.
A prominent student leader in the 1960s, he served as the vice-president of the Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) during the turbulent 1968-69 period and convened the All-Party Student Action Committee.
He gained nationwide prominence by playing a decisive role in the 1969 Mass Uprising, which helped shape the course of Bangladesh’s struggle for independence. Having served as the Awami League’s organising secretary for a long time and later as a member of its highest policymaking body, the Presidium, he was a member of the activities-banned party’s Advisory Council.
He became seriously ill at the beginning of 2024. At one point, he almost completely stopped leaving his home. During that time, he was admitted to the hospital on several occasions.