The 1961 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts

RESPONSE of Amitabha Chowdhury

It is not merely an award or honor that you have chosen to bestow on me. I have really been asked to accept a task—a task to live up to such estimations that Ramon Magsaysay had of an honest man. Friends, at this moment I have a deep, somber feeling within me, as if I am entering a temple, as the Hindus do, to be initiated. It is therefore more than overwhelming, I feel caught by my heartstrings, as I am led to approach one of the purest, noblest and highest initiations of my life—an initiation into the ideals of this great man.

As I stand before you in this assembly today I also realize with deep humility that my function here is that of an instrument—an instrument which is being used to demonstrate the basic unity of two great traditions. History sometimes chooses very common examples to demonstrate in a flash that which is not always perceived—the great and basic unity of human ideals. I am thus perhaps required by destiny to represent the unity of two ideals pursued in two different countries—one by man individually through his heroic life, and another by a group of men through generations of their fearless writings.

Looking behind our contemporary success and high ethical standard of journalism, one would find the noble history of men who suffered the uttermost for the cause of human liberty. Therefore, in bestowing this honor on me I have no doubt that you have actually honored this tradition which is my proud inheritance.

It is almost half a century back that Rabindranath Tagore won for India the first international recognition in literature. He was able to instill a confidence among writers in national languages, as in a different way did your great martyr, José Rizal, who lived and worked in about the same period as that of Tagore. However, for the other branch, that is Bengali journalism, a continuous struggle and enterprise for nearly half a century more was necessary to keep pace with the excellent performance of Bengali literature. During these years journalism in the national language has championed the cause of the common man, his liberty and his right to live a decent life. It has been the vehicle of expression of a powerful and at the same time a reflective intelligentsia. From the winning of the Nobel Prize by Tagore it is now nearly half a century later that through your generous country our enterprise is being internationally recognized. For many of us it is a matter of great happiness that you recognized our efforts in the national language press and honored it in the same year when the birth centenary of one of the greatest products of Indian literary genius is being observed.

I am also grateful to you for having chosen an Asian language for this unique distinction. That you have focused attention of the whole world on the languages of the masses of Asia has been deeply appreciated by my countrymen as well as by many other fellow Asian journalists. This I should say was the most predominant sentiment that emerged from the thousands of congratulatory messages received by me, and I, on their request, convey their congratulations to you for this most invigorating inspiration that you have instilled in us, the journalists of the language press in Asia. I sincerely believe that the future of the masses and the success of their democratic desire will largely depend on the growth of powerful newspapers written in the mother tongues of the masses. Such newspapers can be pillars of democracy in this continent able to carry messages for and from the remotest of villages and minds.

To my colleagues and fellow journalists I would say that we have a battle to win against the coalition of social iniquities. The present experiments of democracy will falter and the freedom earned with the blood of martyrs will be lost if we fail to declare a war against the seething corruption that is around us, the oppressive bureaucracy and the inflictions that are daily being imposed on the poor and voiceless multitudes of this continent. For this war, we have a weapon. That which has the lightness of the winds and the force of a thunderbolt—a pen.

One part of this huge mass and mind was once illuminated by a man who was and still is for them a living faith. He lived and struggled for and to a large extent was able to achieve the same ideals which, in the case of the very best of newspapers, is still an aim to aspire for.

It is not so much therefore for the citation, nor even for the award, but for the opportunity of having a medal which carries the imprint of this noble man that I have waited so eagerly. Give this to me to keep closest to my heart so that it will never falter for fear or for favor. May the destiny of history lead me and you and all ever nearer to the ideals of the man who lived humbly and died immortal.