A.S.M Riad Arif writes for DOT :
It was Simon John Dring, an award-winning British Journalist and the correspondent of The Daily Telegraph in 1971 during the Liberation War in Bangladesh. Before the Pakistan Military started the brutal Genocide they sent a letter to the foreign journalists to leave Dhaka immediately. But Simon hid at the lobby and kitchen of Hotel Intercontinental and went out to collect the news of Genocide at high risk. He is the first person who flashed out the world of what had happened on 25 March Night at Dhaka. Media played a greater role in the liberation war of Bangladesh during 1971. A range number of newspapers, periodicals and journals were published highlighting Bangladesh War of Independence. But it was not an easy job. The entire country was under control by the Pakistan Military but they did it at high risk. M.R Akhter Mukul a Bengali Journalist had recited his Famous ‘Chorrompatra’ at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra every day and it highly inspired the ‘Muktibahini’ and the people during the war.
The Media both in National and International were highly supportive of Bangladesh liberation war. All India Radio, VOA, BBC covered the war almost every day. According to a Statistics from March to December 1971, The Times published 29 editorials; The Daily Telegraph published 39, The Guardian 37 about the liberation war at Bangladesh. So the war created a wave all across the world and influenced the respective government and leaders to take stands in favor of Bangladesh.
The genocide that took place in Bangladesh during the Liberation War was very rare in history. It witnessed 30 lacks deaths, 1 core refugees and displacement of 3 core People. The Pakistani Military drew a master plan to complete abolishment of Bengali Ethnicity.
Before starting the Genocide on 25 March 1971, the Military Government fired and destroyed most of the newspaper. Bangladesh became a newspaper less country. They bombed Sahabag Based ‘The People’ and fired the office of ‘Ittefaq’ and ‘Sangbad’.
At a high risk, a group of journalists published Weekly, Periodical from the free zone of the war. They included news, picture, the cartoon on these. Among ‘Joy Bangla’, ‘Banglar Bani’, ‘Desh Bangla’, ‘Notun Bangla’, ‘Dabanal’,’Janmovumi’,’Ranaggan’,’Mukto Bangla’played a very significant role. Many of the journalists sacrifice their life and shed their blood for the country. Among them were Shahidullah Kaiser, Abu Taleb, and Siraj Uddin Hossain.
The role of “Swadhin Bangla Beter Kendra” could not possible to express in word. It has been told that the Swadhin Bangla Bater Kendra kept the spirit of the nation alive during the nine months of the war and aided the psychological warfare. It was also engaged in another kind of war.
The journalist from West Bengal and Tripura were very much dedicated and published a range number of sensitive reports. Among them, Amullo Ganguly,Monoj Mitra of The Statesman, Suvash Chakrabarty from Times of India, Akashbani’s Sannat Mukharjee were a very important figure. Though the U.S.A was against the birth of Bangladesh the American people and newspaper were with us. The U.S.A based New York Times published news stories with more neutral tones than with positive and negative tones. On 13 June 1971 U.K based The Sunday Times Published Anthony Mascarenhas’s article ‘Genocide’ that focus the brutal genocide of Pakistani Army at a large scale and helped the world leader wake up.
Many of us now are forgetting Joan Baez who was a pro-Bangladeshi activist from the western world. The singing heroine composed a very touchy song after hearing the news of Dhaka killing on March 1971.
‘Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Bangladesh, Bangladesh
When the sun sinks in the west
Die a million people of the Bangladesh’.
The concert for Bangladesh at New York and the “Concert in Sympathy” at U.K cities helped to raise much international awareness. It was such a war where journalists, social activist, cultural activist all around the world have participated. So we can surely expect a ‘Media friendly’ Government and also a Responsible media society at Democratic Bangladesh where journalists sacrificed their blood for its freedom.
* The Writer is graduated from South Asian University, New Delhi under SAARC Silber jubilee Scholarship. Can be reached through riad.arif1952@gmail.com