Nurul Islam was born in
Dacca,
Bengal Presidency,
British Raj (now Bangladesh). Initially trained as a photographer and an actor. Worked for the Department of Films and Publication after
partition in 1947 and became the first Bengali newsreader to announce the birth of the new Pakistan. In 1949, Nurul Islam travelled to London and studied economics and politics at the
London School of Economics, and commenced freelance work as a
Bengali contributor, actor and broadcaster for
BBC Radio. He returned to Pakistan and worked in both radio and television, helping to make government
newsreels at key moments in history. After announcing on radio the independent state of Bangladesh in 1971, Nurul Islam returned to the BBC in England. He joined the
Voice of America in Washington, D.C. in the late 1970s for two years, after which he returned to
BBC World Service based in
Bush House in London and presented
Bengali language children's program, Kakoli. In 1988, following his official retirement Nurul Islam continued as a freelance broadcaster and a mentor to his colleagues at the Bengali section of the World Service at the BBC. ==Death==