Kabir Chowdhury

Born on February 9, 1923 in Brahmanbaria and died on December 13, 2011 in Dhaka at the age of 88. Brother of martyred intellectual Munier Chowdhury, he was an author, translator, cultural activist and Tagore enthusiast. In 1998 he was conferred with National Professor of Bangladesh.

Mohammad Kibria

One of the pre-eminent painters of Bangladesh, he completed his graduation in Painting from the College of Arts and Crafts, Calcutta (now Kolkata), India; and moved to Dhaka in 1956. His works tilt towards abstraction and underscore the inner journey of human beings. He breathed his last on June 7, 2011.

Azam Khan

Azam Khan is popularly known as the pop guru in Bangladesh. Today's thriving band music owes much to Khan who with his unrelenting efforts had taken pop music to a new height. Very few artists from later generations have reached that enviable height in terms of both quality and popularity. A freedom fighter and composer, he not only sang of love and the spirit of independence but also of common people and their plights. He passed away on June 5, 2011.

Abdur Razzak

Veteran Awami League leader Abdur Razzak, one of the key organisers of Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971, breathed his last at a London hospital on December 23, 2011.

Khandakar Delwar

He started active politics at the national level in 1957 by joining National Awami Party (NAP). He joined General Zia's political platform in 1978. He died as the BNP Secretary General on March 16, 2011.

Aminul Islam

When art critics talk about realistic drawing of Bangladeshi painters, Islam's work takes centre stage. He breathed his last on July 8, 2011.

Mishuk Munier

A broadcast journalist with multiple talents, he joined hands with film personality Tareq Masud and became an integral part of the alternative film movement in the 1980s. He died in an accident along with Masud while working on a new film project.

Tareq Masud

Best known for directing the films Muktir Gaan (1995) and Matir Moina (2002), he won two international awards. He died in a road accident on August 13, 2011 while returning to Dhaka from Manikganj on the Dhaka-Aricha highway.