WHEN MEDIA TAKES A STAND FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: THE EXPEERIENCE OF PROTHOM ALO IN BANGLADESH

BY MATIUR RAHMAN, Editor, Prothom Alo
2005 Ramon Magsaysay Foundation Awardee for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts
Presented at the 2005 Magsaysay Awardees’ Lecture Series
Magsaysay Center, Manila, 02 September 2005

It is a great honour for Prothom Alo and myself to be here with a very distinguised. We are grateful to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation for everything.

It is known to the most that Bangladesh came into being after nine months arms struggle in 1971, and even before that there was a prolonged struggle against exploitation, repression and poverty, the victory of December 16, 1971 is a direct result of that.

After the independence of Bangladesh, democracy was established. We were filled with dreams. It was our belief that the nation would be on the road to progress following the democratic ethos. We hoped for economic well-being. But our hopes were dashed. There were conspiracies with links to both internal and external powers. The government too had failed to realise the hopes of the masses. It is in this backdrop that the architect of the nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed three and a half years after independence and the military came to power. Consequently, for one and a half decades the country remained in the grip of the military junta. However, the people did put up a brave fight against autocracy.

In 1990, after the fall of autocracy, democracy was re-instated. Again we started dreaming of advancement. There have been three general elections between 1991 and 2001, and three elected governments subsequently came to power. We thought that after two or three elections democracy would find its firm footing in this clime. But, this did not happen. Today political strife and instability undermine the democratic values. The country remains deeply divided as there has been a polarisation with two large political parties locking horns-one is Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), now is in power, led by Khaleda Zia; another is Awami League, the largest party in opposition, led by Sheikh Hasina. The followers of the two opposite streams have shown little tolerance. It is their intolerance that jeopardizes the democratic climate. People are stuck with the thought: are we advancing or lagging behind.

In the 1960s, during the movements for self-rule and subsequently for independence all the progressive democratic fronts were unified under the auspices of the civil society. However, in today's climate political parties, different social organisations and civil society have failed to play a positive role, mainly because in the last fifteen years they too have diverged into two opposite poles. The political parties are sticking to their arbitrary decisions. As a result democracy itself is now in danger. The rule of law too is jeopardized. The failure of the civil society has translated into chaos and listlessness. Since there is no other source from which the masses would draw inspiration, it is the mass media that came forward to bridge the gap.

The post-independence Bangladesh has seen successes in some of the fields. A country of 140 million has become self-sufficient in food. The life expectancy has risen to 62 years on an average. There has been headway in family planning. And 90 percent of the populace has been brought under sanitation programmes. There has been progress at primary-level education. Enrollment of girl children to schools has increased. Despite all these successes the country, as a whole, has not advanced. The reasons for these are: 1. corruption reared its head in every sector of the government; 2. there has been a rise in terrorism both in the cities and in villages; 3. politicization of the government and administration has taken place; 4. political conflicts are on the rise; 5. there has been a stalemate in dialogue between the government and the opposition.

Political parties want to grab power by any means. Once in power they have little respect for the promises that they had made to the people. As a direct consequence of all this, Bangladesh is now in a deep political, social and economic crisis.

The role of the media has now become more important. It has become the last platform to pin our hopes on. As far as the masses are concerned, when they fail to pin their hopes on the government, or the administration, or on the political parties, they rely on the newspapers, they hope we would play a role.

News-media in Bangladesh has a glorious past. It has played a crucial role in the political and social movements of the past, and it helped people attain their goals and meet their demands. The masses have always relied on the news-media. The rift that runs through the political arena has also influenced the news-media. But, mostly, the mainstream newspapers have been vociferous against injustice, repression, corruption and terrorism. They have played an exemplary role in changing the society.

Prothom Alo came into being on November 4, 1998. But I began my job as an Editor in the daily Bhorer Kakoj in the early nineties. Even before that, I was the Editor of the weekly Ekota, throughout seventies and eighties. We, the journalists of Prothom Alo, have laid our faith on free and independent journalism since the beginning. We remained unrelenting in our effort to express the truth; we made it our motto. Prothom Alo has taken a stance in favour of democracy, good governance, human rights and the rule of law and against injustice, oppression, terror, and corruption. We are mobilising public opinion with this end in view. We have never flinched from pointing out the misdeeds of the government and from criticising it for its erroneous policies. We did the same when it came to the political parties, or even the opposition. In this particular clime we work braving the political pressure and the atmosphere of fear. The government as well as the opposition and the section that only seeks to serve its own end are not comfortable with our position. We say that it is our biggest achievement. It is this principle that propelled us in the forefront, and made us popular in a very short period of time. Now we are the largest newspaper in Bangladesh.

We speak in favour of the people. We try and make effort to stand by the destitute. We want to make them aware of the present and the future that awaits them. With this end in view we project a vision of tomorrow. We, at Prothom Alo, have been playing a major role in bringing it to sharp focus. In this lie the major successes of this newspaper.

We do not dwell on dreams alone; we stand by the people in need. Our role is not limited to the publishing of news alone. We put forward our opinion. We organise seminars and dialogues at district and national levels to mobilise public opinion on local and national issues to influence the decision of the policy-maker. Lawmakers, politicians, economists, women leaders and representatives of the civil society participate in these dialogues.

Among the dialogues organised by Prothom Alo, the most mentionable are the following: Bangladesh in the New Millennium, Rule of law and Accountability, Allocation for Education in the National Budget, Unplanned Urbanisation and its Consequence on the Environment, Bangladesh's Armed Forces and Its Defense Policy, Bilateral Relationship between Bangladesh and India, of Bangladesh, Improvement of Health in the Light of the Health Policy, Revamping of the Public Administration, Good Governance and Democracy: Crisis and Possibilities etc.

To mobilise public opinion we have put out special supplements on the dialogues that look place. We also compiled the details in books that we published.

Alongside our usual role as a newspaper, and as the initiator of dialogues for the benefits of the public, we are involved in social works. Our faith in the masses has led us to such activities.

Now I will speak about some of our social activity.

1. The Movement against Acid Violence:

Prothom Alo has played a pioneering role against acid violence. We formed the 'Prothom Alo Aid Fund' for acid-victims with the financial support of our readers in April 19, 2000. It was established with a view to resist acid violence and to provide medical and legal assistance and to fully rehabilitate the victims of acid violence. The fund took off with the money raised by the journalists and the employees of Prothom Alo; they each sacrificed a day's salary to get it started. After that, a steering committee has been formed with eminent personalities as its members. As Prothom Alo enjoys the highest circulation and is a reliable newspaper, many readers from home and abroad have extended their support. Support from Individuals, organisations as well institutions went to build the fund that had been so important in changing the lives of the victims.

Among the activities that are hinged upon the 'Prothom Alo Aid Fund', alongside the rehabilitation programmes, there is an education scholarship. With rehabilitation in view, there are programmes like vocational training and payment of stipends; there are programmes to help people to acquire cultivable land as well as land for housing; there are also programmes to help them buy houses, livestock, fry, trawlers, vans, rickshaws and shops to start life anew. To raise public awareness we are routinely publishing news, features and promotional advertisement. Open discussions, walkathons, rallies are organised with the same end in view; there is also this campaign of plastering posters and stickers across the country to raise awareness.

The 'Prothom Alo Aid Fund' has so far raised 140,000 USD (an equivalent of 9 million taka). With this amount 75 victims of acid violence have been rehabilitated; 139 of them have received support in 30 districts among the total of 64.

2. The Movement Against Drug Abuse:

To address the issue of drug abuse, Prothom Alo has taken steps under the heading of 'Prothom Alo Anti Drug Campaign'. A steering committee has been formed while eminent singers, athletes, artists and businessmen as its members. As part of the campaign against drug abuse Prothom Alo has organised roundtables, and has run campaign through plastering posters and stickers, by organising meetings, rallies and concerts, where popular singers were invited to lend their support. To create awareness we have resorted to writing reports, features as well as editorials on the subject. Our efforts have been unrelenting. On June 26 the day earmarked for international anti-drug and anti-drug trafficking day, Prothom Alo has taken an initiative to organise rallies in 51 districts and sub-districts accross the nation. Since the last three year we have been organising such programmes on a national level.

3. Creating Awareness on HIV/Aids

Besides the usual roundtables and meetings, Prothom Alo has published especial features, editorials and especial interviews on HIV/Aids. A series of articles have been published surveying the areas most prone to HIV/Aids in the time between 2004 and 2005. We have organised a round-table discussion and anti-drug rallies with CARE Bangladesh, an NGO, as partner. On December 1, 2004, rallies and meetings have been organised to create mass awareness in 31 districts across Bangladesh.

4. Math and Language Competitions

With a view to make the school-going children scientifically inclined in their thoughts and ideas we have been organising a Math Olympiad for the last three years with the financial assistance of Dutch-Bangla Bank. The National Math Olympiad, which was formed on April 13, 2003, is in charge of organising the yearly Olympiads. It is a novel initiative in Bangladesh. Prothom Alo is the main force behind it 15 thousand students took part in the Olympiad last year. For the first time in history a team from Bangladesh has participated in the 'World Math Olympiad' in Mexico this year.

5. Our valiant students had laid down their lives in 1952 to make Bangla the state language. We have chalked out a plan to organise language competition both at local and national levels every year so that the school-going would grow up in awareness of their own language and culture. 4,000 students from 333 schools have participated in this event from all over the country.

6. Besides the language competition, we are helping the schools and other organisations to organise debates on drug abuse and many other socially relevant subjects.

7. Standing by the Flood Affected

There has been a terrible flood in July-August of the year 2004. And to mitigate the travails of the people the employees of the Prothom Alo with the help of its readers' organisation 'Bandhu-shava Readers forum' has spurred to actions.

An assistance cell has been formed at Prothom Alo to help the flood affected. The donations in cash and kind sent by the cross-section of people stood at 160,700 USD (an equivalent of 1 crore 11 lakh taka). This donation was spent in distributing food and in providing health services to the flood victims of 44 districts. For about two months, we were engaged in distributing aid in food and clothing to the distressed across the nation. When the flood water receded, we dealt out seeds, fertilizer; for regulating of their homes we donated building materials; for schools we have provided amenities like labels, chairs, and to ensure their sound health we provided health services as well as medicines.

8. Treatment of Injured Journalist

We have raised 40 thousand USD (29 lakh taka) for the treatment of Tipu Sultan, a journalist who fell victim to political persecution. We have raised money for the treatment. We have raised money for the treatment of children or students suffering from cancer or other pernicious diseases.

9. Various Awards

10. To inspire creativity we have chalked out a plan to award the best non-fiction and fiction books of the year. With this view in mind we have already awarded two writers.

11. We also have awarded for the best athletes of the country.

11. In recognition of the television and film actors and crews who made a difference in their field we have taken an initiative to award them in two different categories-one by popular vote and the other by a jury. We are organising it every year with the assistance of the Squire Group, one of the biggest conglomerates of the country. It is called Meril-Prothom Alo Award. This award giving function is the biggest cultural event in the country.

13. We arrange functions to honour the best students at secondary and higher secondary level. To ensure the scholastic development of the students we organise debate, general quiz and other competitions.

By initiating all this Prothom Alo has become a symbol of hope. Whether we have contributed in realising the hopes of the people or not, the judgment is better left to our readers. We can only assure them of the fact that we have been sincere in our pledge, efforts as well as actions. Our source of might is our readers and the people; we are inspired only by them. Our actions are directed to the betterment of the people and our country. With this as our principle we would like to move forward.

We, the journalist at Prothom Alo, are aware of the duties that are linked to our profession. We will make efforts to eradicate the social, political and economic impediments that hinder our progress; we are aware of our role in our advancement. Today the role of the newspaper is even more crucial in the progress of the nation. We remain alert, so that our actions may expedite the advancement.

I pledge while accepting this award that Prothom Alo will relentlessly be working to make the masses more aware and facilitate the transformation of this society.

I have already declared that I would give one-third of my award money to the acid-victims; one-third portion would go to the anti-drug and HIV/AIDS awareness campaign; and with the rest I would like to extend a helping hand to the families of the journalists who fell victim to political persecution; the journalists injured during executing their duties too would receive assistance from this portion of the fund.

Ramon Magsaysay award will most certainly inspire all of us at Prothom Alo. We will continue our efforts with equal zeal and with the same considerations that drives us to action while trying to transform the society. Our motto, 'Whatever is worthwhile, Prothom Alo is with it,' will remain unchanged. We will remain true to it in the days to come.

Thank you.