S.M. Ali

On the occasion of the 48th Anniversary of Independence, we reprint below a segment of a piece written by an eminent journalist and the founding editor of The Daily Star, the late S M Ali. The article was published in a book titled, “After the Dark Night”, in 1974.

“My people love me,” is an oft-quoted remark of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In foreign press reports, the claim is sometimes treated with a touch of sneer, which is unfortunate, because the Sheikh says this in all sincerity and apparently derives his real strength as a leader from this “love of my people.”