Adil Khan & Zulfiquer Sadeque
After a massive stroke and heart-related complications, Brig. (Rtd.) Dr. Kalam Shahed, a regular contributor to the South Asia Journal passed away on Friday, October 11, 2024 at 2.00 AM in Ottawa, Canada.
Born in the year 1953 in Magura within what was then Jessore district in Bangladesh, Dr. Kalam Shahed was 71 at the time of his passing.
Dr. Shahed’s schooling was at the Jhenaidah Cadet College (1st batch), Bangladesh.
He joined the then Pakistan Army in 1970 and as he hailed from the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) which waged a liberation war against (the then West) Pakistan in 1971, Shahed Kalam, then in (erstwhile West) Pakistan, was interned there. Shahed returned to Bangladesh in 1973 and joined the Bangladesh Army.
Dr. Kalam served in several important positions in the Bangladesh Army, becoming a Brigadier General in 1996 and left the Bangladesh Army in 2001, subsequently migrating to Canada the same year.
Dr. Shahed’s academic achievements included a Bachelor of Arts degree, Dhaka University; a Management Diploma, INTAN, Kuala Lumpur; Masters of Social Sciences, 1st Class, Dhaka University; Executive Program Diploma, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada; and a PhD degree in International Relations and Development Politics from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada.
Dr. Shahed Kalam taught at Queen’s University and at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada and worked for the Canadian government in various capacities: Lead Afghan Analyst for the Canadian Privy Council Office; Working with NATO and intelligence organizations on security and political issues involving India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan; Lead Security Analyst on Asia and the Middle East, etc.
After retiring from the Canadian government Dr. Kalam continued to work as a free-lance researcher and as columnist for several reputable international journals including the South Asia Journal. Dr. Shahed Kalam’s last article for South Asia Journal, “General Waker-uz-Zaman, the enigmatic Army Chief: An Unintended Hero?” which he wrote to explain the August 5 post-Student revolution political dynamics in Bangladesh was published only a couple of weeks ago.
Dr. Shahed Kalam is survived by Nasima Shahed (Shopon – wife), Anonna Shahed (daughter); Ayon Shahed (son), Ana Smith (daughter-in-law); Dr. Arpon Shahed (son); Nandini Udin (granddaughter), and his mother who is still alive, and two brothers and a sister.
Shahed – your family, and your friends and colleagues and your admirers, home and abroad and at the South Asia Journal will miss you! Rest in peace, Brother Shahed!!