The Azad

The Daily Azad (Bangla:আজাদ) is a Bengali daily newspaper that was first published in Kolkata on October 31, 1936. The first editor of the daily was Maulana Mohammad Akram Khan. In the early days the daily was treated as the expresser of the Muslims of Bengal and Assam. In the 1940s the editor was Mohammad Modabber and he used to carry all the initiatives to publish it with his son. Mohammed Sadrul Anam Khan and Nazir Ahmed was also associated during that time. The daily regularly published the news of Dhaka as well from their regional reporter Khairul Kabir.

When the partition of India took place, the whole paper was transferred to Dhaka on October 19, 1948. Abul Kalam Shamsuddin was nominated editor at that time. Other officials were Khairul Kabir as news editor and Mujibur Rahman Khan and Abu Jafar Shamsuddin was in editorial section. Soon afterwards the daily became the leading newspaper in East Pakistan.

The publication of Azad was prohibited in 1949 when the editorial went against the government. Government also stopped giving advertisements to the paper. Azad played an important role during the Language Movement. Azad supported the movement and told the truth defying the threat of the government. When the killing of February 21 took place, Azad immediately released a special edition on February 22. Abul Kalam Shamsuddin who was the editor and the member of the Legislative Council of that time resigned from council as a protest of the killing. Though it was a Muslim League based paper, it showed its love and respect for the Bengali language and movement. As a result Azad later become the main source to collect the historical happenings of that time. But their vision also fluctuated from time to time. Specially after March 1, 1952 they followed government's desire and became partisan^[1]. During the autocratic regime of General Ayub Khan the daily again stood up under the leadership of Maulana's youngest son Mohammed Quamrul Anam Khan to protest against numerous corruption and unjust rule. It also played an important role yet in another instance in the history of Bangladesh during those time - the Agartala Conspiracy Case.

The daily quickly lost its appeal after when Maulana Akram Khan died and the controversies started about the ownership. It lost competition with daily Ittefaq which became increasingly popular. After the independence of Bangladesh the daily was published with the financial help of the government. Later the daily was given to its legal owner and Managing Director, Mohammad Quamrul Anam Khan Under the private administration. Due to lack of financial support and Govt. policies, Daily Azad was finally defunct after 1992.

References

1. ^ Al Helal, Bashir, Bhasha Andoloner Itihas. pp-513

External links

• Banglapedia: Azad, the