With our eyes on that guiding star

That day is etched indelibly on our minds. We were sitting in the Transcom Group corporate office, facing its chairman Latifur Rahman. By 'we', I mean Matiur Rahman, Anisul Haque and I. Prothom Alo hadn't been launched then, it had just been proposed.

It was The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam who was the main proposer. The principle investor of The Daily Star, Latifur Rahman, was ready to invest in a Bangla daily, but only if Mati bhai would be editor. Mati bhai had told us about the proposal. We turned up there to see what Latifur Rahman had in mind, how he perceived the relationship between the investor and professional journalists.

We journalists had been through a lot of ups and downs to reach where we were. It was immediately after the fall of Hussain Muhammad Ershad's undemocratic military government that a group of us youth had got together. The emerging environs of a restored democracy were bursting with positive energy and hope. Inspired by this sense of hope, we felt this was the most opportune moment for the launch an independent newspaper, free and unobstructed. We ventured forward but with two newspapers in succession, our dreams were cruelly crushed. Like the democracy of Bangladesh, the ambitious dreams of the journalists were dashed to the ground. That is another long story.

So it was with a degree of trepidation that we sat in front of Latifur Rahman. He answered our queries succinctly. The bottom line was, if the newspaper was to be be firmly established, it must become financially self-dependent. It must reach the top as the highest circulated newspaper in the country. And the only way to achieve this was by having an independent editorial stance. Fearless journalism was the main path to establishing the newspaper's financial foundation.

I clearly remember Latifur Rahman's next words: "If you all proceed ahead, you will not have to bow down to anyone, not to me, not to anyone. Who can stop a winning horse?"

And that is how it all began. The voyage of Prothom Alo began with Mati bhai at the helm as editor. The rest is history, a chapter of pride in the history of Bangladesh's news media.

Over the past 24 years whatever we have done has been on the basis of upholding the editorial independence of Prothom Alo. To carry out this responsibility in face of Bangladesh's tenuous democracy and a state of vengeful repression, has been a mammoth task more daunting than scaling the Everest.

All blame cannot simply be piled on politics of vengeance. It must be said that the investors in media themselves are the very first obstacle to an independent editorial stand. They use their media houses in their own business and political interests. And so from the very pangs of birth, the editorial stance falls away from under the feet of these media houses.

If we list all the stormy trials and tribulations that Prothom Alo had to face, Latifur Rahman's name comes first for bearing the brunt of the burdens. When the newspaper was launched, he had made up his mind that he will not get into any business that involved the government. He had been a member on several advisory boards of the government. I remember drafting a letter for him, resigning as member of a tea advisory council of the government.

Even so, the hindrances continued. Latifur Rahman and Matiur Rahman were defamed in all sorts of ways, politically and socially. Flimsy excuses were used to file one lawsuit after the other against the editor. The journalists were harassed with the help of the law enforcement and the administration. Some of them even faced death threats, distribution of the newspaper was halted in several areas.  Not only did the government withhold advertisements from the newspaper, but also coerced many corporate house of the private sector to stop advertising in Prothom Alo. Such pressure continued relentlessly.

Prothom Alo has had to venture forward with immense efforts to survive and to carry on its journalism in the face of such obstruction. To paraphrase Rabindranath Tagore, it's a daunting ocean that we must cross. But it is the fiery determination and commitment to independent and objective journalism that has enabled us to go ahead against all odds. And that is the source of our readers' sincere and unadulterated love, the strong base of Prothom Alo as an institution.

Is Prothom Alo flawless, never makes mistakes? It does. Does it make no errors in its coverage of any incident? It does. Despite our scrupulous and cautious efforts, there can be an occasional slip. Facing an environment so harshly adverse to journalists, there is always the fear of slipping up. But if we make any mistake, we are the first to admit it. We learn and we move on. We firmly believe that our readers understand and believe in our sincerity within the overall shrinking space in the country. And that is our strength.

The question is, is that path that Prothom Alo traverses, the path for Prothom Alo alone? Not at all. The free space earned by a journalist by dint of practicing journalism, opens doors wide for other journalists. So along with a few other news media, Prothom Alo creates a space for itself and for the media in Bangladesh as a whole, through its journalism. In that sense, Prothom Alo is broadening the space for journalism in Bangladesh.

One of the major preconditions of democracy is, at a state level, the freedom of expression and action of every citizen, the freedom of life and living. One of its vital components is political activities, free and fair elections so people's wishes are represented in the running of the state. Another essential component is free press. In Bangladesh where elections are questionable and on precarious ground, where politics is obstructed and where people's views are overlooked in the government, a few media establishments are rare signs of the flickering light of democracy. In this all-encompassing pitch darkness, Prothom Alo vigilantly protects that burning flame.

Like full democracy, neither does free and independent journalism fall from the sky. It must be steadily achieved by dint of extreme effort and endeavour. And we proceed ahead, our eyes fixed on that guiding star.

Dhanmondi, Dhaka

30 October 2022