National Professor, Ph.D in History from the University of London, Barrister-at-Law from Lincoln's Inn, was Professor of History and VC of the University of Chittagong. Appointed as University Grants Commission Professor in 2008, Professor Emeritus in 2012 and National Professor in 2021. He was also a Nuffield Foundation Fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, and Visiting Professor at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. He has received a number of awards including Atish Dipankar Award and Ekushay Padak. Authored several books as well as numerous articles in scholarly journals including, among others, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, London and Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Leiden.