Wadud, Kazi Abdul (1894-1970) educationist and writer, was born on 26 April 1894 in Baghmara village in Pangsha, Faridpur. His father, Kazi Sagiruddin, was a railway stationmaster. Abdul Wadud initially studied at the Jagannathpur Minor School. In 1913 he passed his Entrance from the Dhaka Collegiate School. Subsequently, he passed his IA (1915) and BA (1917) from Presidency College, Calcutta and MA (1919) in Economics from Calcutta University. In 1920, he joined Dhaka Intermediate College as a professor of Bengali.

Kazi Abdul Wadud was one of the pioneers of the buddhir mukti andolan (movement for the awakening of the intellect) that started in 1926 in dhaka through the muslim sahitya samaj (Muslim literary society). He edited its journal shikha. He also wrote articles for the journal, expressing his liberal and pragmatic thoughts. In 1940 he became editor of the Textbook Committee, Calcutta, retiring from the post in July 1951. He was deeply influenced by thoughts and ideas of Goethe (1749-1832), Rammohun roy (1772-1833) and rabindranath tagore (1861-1941). He attempted to arouse the spirit of free and rational thought and a secular attitude among Bengali Muslims.

Abdul Wadud's most important contribution is perhaps his Vyavaharik Shavdakos (1953), a practical dictionary which analyzes Bangla words derived from Arabic, Persian and Turkish. It also includes words extensively used in Bengali Muslim society. His other books reflect the width of his interests, and range from books on Islam to books on Indian and western literary figures. His books include Mir Paribar (1918), Naba Paryay (first part 1926, second part 1929), Rabindra Kavyapath (1927), Samaj O Sahitya (1934), Hindu Musalmaner Birodh (1935), Path O Bipath (1939), Ajkar Katha (1941), Kaviguru Goethe (first and second part, 1946), Nazrul Pratibha (1949), Svadhinata Diner Upahar (1951), Shashvata Banga (1951), Vyavaharik Shavdakos (1953), Banglar Jagaran (1956), Sharat Chandra O Tarpar (1961), Kaviguru Rabindranath (first part 1962, second part 1969), Hazrat Mohammad O Islam (1966) and Pabitra Quran (first part 1966, second part 1967), Creative Bengal (1950), Tagore's Role in the Reconstruction of Indian Thought. Abdul Wadud died on 19 May in 1970 in Calcutta and was buried in Gobra Cemetery. [Khondkar Sirajul Haque]