''The Azad'' () was a Bengali-language daily newspaper published from 1936 to 1990s. ''The Azad'' became Dhaka's first daily newspaper. The newspaper while based in Dhaka played an important role during the

Bengali Language Movement The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government ...

for its advocacy of Bengali.

History

The newspaper was founded in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

on 31 October 1936. The first editor of the daily was Maulana Mohammad Akram Khan. In its early days, the daily supported the Muslim League in both

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

and

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

languages. In the 1940s, the editor was Mohammad Modabber; he published ''The Azad'' with his son. Mohammed Sadrul Anam Khan and Nazir Ahmed were also associated during that time. The daily regularly published

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

-based and regional news from reporter Khairul Kabir. After the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, ''The Azad'' was transferred to

on 19 October 1948. It became the first newspaper to move to Dhaka. Abul Kalam Shamsuddin was nominated editor at that time. Khairul Kabir acted as news editor. Mujibur Rahman Khan and Abu Jafar Shamsuddin worked in the editorial section. Soon afterward, the daily became the leading newspaper in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

Bengali Language Movement

The publication of ''The Azad'' was prohibited in 1949 when editorial content turned against the government, which responded by prohibiting advertisements in the paper. ''The Azad'' supported the

and defied the government's threats. When the killing of February 21 took place, ''The Azad'' released a special edition on 22 February. The editor of the newspaper, Abul Kalam Shamsuddin, who was also member of the Legislative Assembly resigned from the assembly in protest. Despite being a

right wing Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...

newspaper which previously supported the Muslim League, it published week-long investigative reports on the incidents of February 21. However after 1 March 1952, they succumbed to government pressure and could not remain impartial. Al Helal, Bashir, Bhasha Andoloner Itihas. pp-513 During the autocratic regime of General Ayub Khan, the daily again stood up under the leadership of Akram Khan's youngest son, Mohammed Quamrul Anam Khan to protest against corruption and unjust rule. It also played an important role in the toppling of the Ayub Khan government and the

Agartala Conspiracy Case The Agartala Conspiracy Case was a sedition case in Pakistan during the rule of Ayub Khan (general), Ayub Khan against Awami League, brought by the government of Pakistan in 1968 against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then leader of the Awami Lea ...

Decline

The daily quickly lost its appeal after Maulana Mohammad Akram Khan died and ownership controversies arose. It lost readership from competition with Ittefaq which became increasingly popular. After the

independence of Bangladesh The independence of Bangladesh was Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, declared from Pakistan on 26 March 1971, which is now celebrated as Independence Day (Bangladesh), Independence Day. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March ...

, the daily lost government financial aid. Later, the daily was given to its legal owner and managing director, Mohammad Quamrul Anam Khan to be run under private administration. Due to lack of financial support and government policies, ''The Azad'' was shut down in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azad, The 1936 establishments in India Defunct newspapers published in Bangladesh Defunct newspapers published in India Newspapers published in Kolkata Newspapers established in 1936 Publications disestablished in 1990 Newspapers published in Dhaka Bengali-language newspapers published in Bangladesh Daily newspapers published in Bangladesh

History

Bengali Language Movement

Decline

See also

References