Journalists urged to follow Abdus Salam
Journalists should follow prominent editor and scholar late Abdus Salam's path, which he has laid through his writings to strengthen democracy and uphold human rights, speakers said at a discussion yesterday.
They also demanded that the government gives due recognition to the editor's contribution to journalism and the country by naming a road in the capital after him.
They were addressing a meeting marking the 102nd birth anniversary of the renowned journalist, who was the editor of the now defunct Bangladesh Observer, organised by Sangbadik Abdus Salam Smriti Sangsad at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital.
Salam's writings in the Observer allowed the political movements of the country to progress, speakers observed.
His articles made the then Pakistani rulers of Bangladesh worried as he wrote about oppression and irregularities of the dictators, said Justice Kazi Ebadul Haque.
The fearless editor never compromised when writing against autocrats and that is why he was sent to jail, said Golam Kibria, former acting director of Press Institute of Bangladesh.
Abdus Salam was not only a journalist but also a scholar whose extraordinary intellect was reflected in his writings and thinking, said Prof AK Azad Chowdhury, chairman of University Grant Commission (UGC).
“Salam was an idealist and a fearless person who raised his voice against the dictators for establishing democracy and human rights,” added Azad.
Expressing dissatisfaction, Rehana Salam, daughter of Abdus Salam, said the journalist community as well as the state has forgotten about the renowned journalist.
"If famed journalists and idealists like Abdus Salam are not appraised then the nation may not find any more intellectuals and patriots in future," she said.
Ruhul Amin Gazi, president of a faction of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Dr Ferdous Ahmed Qureshi, chairman of Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), Reazuddin Ahmed, editor of News Today, and Alamgir Mohiuddin, editor of Nayadignata, spoke among others.
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