Studied at the University of Dhaka (1956-1960) and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1962-2005) and retired as Professor of History. He spent an academic year (2013-2014) at the Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A., as a visiting scholar with a Senior Fulbright Fellowship. From 2000 to 2003 he was the Vice-Chancellor of the National University, Bangladesh.