Syed Waliullah (1922-1971) was a distinguished Bangladeshi novelist, short story writer, and playwright born on 15 August 1922 in Sholashahar, Chittagong. His father, Syed Ahmadullah, was a government officer, and his postings across East Bengal allowed young Waliullah to observe diverse social conditions, which greatly influenced his literary characters.
He completed his matriculation in 1939 from Kurigram High School, his IA in 1941 from Dhaka College, and graduated with distinction from Anandamohan College, Mymensingh, in 1943. He then enrolled at Calcutta University to study Economics but could not complete his studies due to family circumstances. Waliullah also studied intermittently at Feni High School, Chittagong Zila School, and Krishnanagar College.
Waliullah began his literary journey as a student at Feni High School, editing a hand-written magazine called Bhorer Alo. His first short story, Hathat Alor Jhalkani, was published in the Dhaka College magazine. Fluent in English and Bengali, he briefly published an English journal titled Contemporary and worked as a sub-editor for The Statesman in Calcutta from 1945 to 1947. He also contributed to periodicals such as Saogat, Mohammadi, Bulbul, Parichay, Arani, and Purbasha.
After the partition of India in 1947, Waliullah moved to Dhaka and joined Radio Pakistan as an assistant news editor and later became news editor in Karachi (1950-51). Between 1951 and 1960, he served as a press attaché at Pakistan’s embassies in New Delhi, Sydney, Jakarta, and London. From 1960 to 1967, he was the first secretary at Pakistan’s embassy in Paris and later worked as a program specialist at UNESCO in Paris from 1967 to 1971.
During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, Syed Waliullah actively supported the cause, collaborating with Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury to garner support from French intellectuals such as Pierre Emmanuel and André Malraux to mobilize international opinion.
His most renowned novel is Lalsalu (1948), translated into French by his wife Anne Marie as Tree Without Roots (1967). This novel portrays rural life in East Bengal, revealing the manipulations of religious charlatans. Other notable works include the novels Chander Amabasya (1964) and Kando Nadi Kando (1968), which showcase his command of Existentialist philosophy, collections of short stories like Nayanchara (1951) and Dui Tir O Anyanya Galpa, and plays such as Bahipir (1960), Tarabgabhabga (1964), and Sudabga (1964).
His literary works critically explore social prejudices, religious deception, and moral decay. Syed Waliullah received multiple awards, including the Ekushey Padak posthumously in 1983. He passed away in Paris on 10 October 1971