Journalist Biography


Abul Kalam Shamsuddin

Abul Kalam Shamsuddin(November 3, 1897–1978) was a journalist, politician and littérateur. He was born at Trishal of Mymensingh.

Shamsuddin passed IA from Dhaka College in 1919. Then we went to Ripon College of Kolkata to gain higher studies. In 1921 he took the Upadhi examination from Gudiya Suvama Vidyayatan. He participated in Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement as a student.

In 1922 he joined the daily Mohammadi as assistant editor. He also edited the weekly Moslem Jagat, The Musalman, the Daily Soltan, the weekly Mohammadi and Mashik Mohammadi. He joined the daily newspaper called The Azad in 1936. He worked as the editor of the daily from 1940 to 1962. He also was the editor of Daily Pakistan.

Shamsuddin first came to politics after the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre in Punjab. He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress. In 1927 he joined the Muslim League. He also took part in the Pakistan Movement after becoming the president of East Pakistan Renaissance Society. He also was the chairman of the Reception Committee of the Renaissance Society Summit at Kolkata in 1944.[1] In 1946 he was elected to the Central Legislative Council. Shamsuddin became a member of Language Committee of East Pakistan Government in 1949.

Abul Kalam Shamsuddin played an important role during the Language Movement. At that time he was the editor of the leading daily Azad which supplied true news about the movement. On February 22, 1952 he resigned from the East Bengal Legislative Assembly to protest the police firing of the previous day. Azad also published a special evening edition on that day.According to him the editorial that he wrote to criticize the police firing created massive excitement among the youths.

Abul Kalam Shamsuddin wrote a number of books. He along with some other writer formed a domestic literature society named Raonok. Shamsuddin was the secretary of this 21 member society of Islamist writers.[4] Amongst them his autobiography Atit Jiboner Smriti is considered as his masterpiece.

His other works are:
Podojomi Ba Anabadi Jami (1938)
Trisrota (1939)
Kharataranga (1953)
Drstikon (1961)
Natun China Natun Desh (1965)
Digvijayi Taimur (1965),
Iliad (1967),
Palashi Theke Pakistan (1968),
Atit Diner Smrti (1968)

Abul Kalam Shamsuddin was awarded a number of awards in Pakistan and Bangladesh. In Pakistan he was awarded the Sitara-i-Khidmat in 1961 and Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1967. In 1969 during the revolution of people he protested against the government and refused his awards for the cause. He received the Bangla Academy award in 1970. After the independence of Bangladesh, he was honored with the Bangladesh’s highest honour Ekushey Padak.


Altaf Husain

Altaf Husain (January 26, 1900 - May 25, 1968) was an eminent journalist of the South Asia. He was born on January 26, 1900 in Bangladesh. He received his early education in Calcutta and then attended Dhaka University where he graduated with an M.A. (English).

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah appointed Altaf Husain the Editor of Dawn and in this capacity he played a critically important part in the Pakistan movement which lead to the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the South Asia.

In 1942, his services were lent to the Government of India as Press Advisor. He was the member of a three-man panel along with C.P. Johnson of The Statesman and S.A. Govindarajan of The Hindu.

In 1959, Altaf Husain was awarded the Hilal-e-Quaid-e-Azam by the Government of Pakistan. From 1965 to 1968, Altaf Husain served as the Minister for Industries and Natural Resources in the Federal Government of Pakistan.

Altaf Husain died on May 25, 1968 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.

Altaf Husain was not only the editor of Dawn in Delhi and a very close confidant of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah the president of all Pakistan Muslim League and the owner of Dawn he expressed through his powerful pen the hopes and dreams of all the Muslims of South Asia through inspiring and passionate editorials. Jinnah gave him total freedom to run Dawn and its editorial policy. At one time he told Altaf Husain, "I do not want you to spare any one who stands on our way to achieve Pakistan. Even me. If you feel that I am failing somewhere" Jinnah's trust in his editor was unshakable.

Following post independence Jinnah wanted to publish Dawn newspaper from Karachi in 1947. He had the idea to publish two editions of his newspaper. Both from Delhi and Karachi. He instructed Altaf Husain to proceed to Karachi in early August 1947 with some senior staffs from his Delhi office to set up Dawn newspaper in Karachi. Yusuf Haroon a young and energetic member of the Central Committee of Muslim League was given the task to provide facilities to the Dawn newspaper team led by Altaf Husain to publish Dawn newspaper by 14 August 1947, the day Pakistan was born. Altaf Husain with his usual zeal successfully completed his task. First Pakistani edition of Dawn newspaper was published on 15 August 1947. In the meantime Delhi Dawn newspaper office and its presses were burnt down by the Hindu extremist on 12 August 1947. Altaf Husain's third floor flat in New Delhi located at Sujan Singh Park was also set on fire by the Sikhs destroying every thing including many collection of valuable Books. Altaf Husain landed in Karachi with his family with a handful of suitcases on 7 August 1947. His dedication and call to his duties never wavered. Dawn newspaper was a single voice of the Muslims of India. Through the power of his pen he battled against influential newspapers of Hindu India and came up triumphs! The street in Karachi where Dawn was first published is now known as Altaf Husain Road.

Anisul Hoque

Anisul Hoque (1965) is a Bangladeshi author, novelist, dramatist, and journalist.

Anisul Hoque was born in Rangpur in 1965 (1966, according to academic certificate). His father is late Mofazzal Hoque and mother is Mst. Anwara Begum. He was the student of Rangpur PTI primary school, Rangpur Zilla School, Rangpur Carmichael College. Hoque graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, trained as a civil engineer. His inspiration in journalism and writing started during his student life. After his graduation he joined to serve as a government employee but resigined only after 15 days. Later, He started working as a journalist. He attended the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 2010. Currently, Hoque is working as a Deputy Editor of the Bengali language daily Prothom Alo which is leading position in Bangladesh.
Works

Poetry
Khola Chithi Sundarer Kachhe
Jalrang Padya
Asale Ayur Cheye Baro Shaadh Tar Akash Dekhar

Novels
Kheya (The Ferryboat 1996)
Ondhokarer Eksho Bochhor (One Hundred Years in Darkness, 1995)
Fand (Trap, 1997)
Bristibondhu (The Rain Friend, 1997)
Amar Ekta Dukhkho Achhe (I have a Sorrow 1999)
Maa (Mother, 2003. One of his most famous works) ISBN 984-458-422-1 (available as ebook here )
Abar Tora Kipte Ho
Dushwapner Jatri (2006)
Khuda o Bhalobashar Galpo
Nandini (2006)
Alo Andhokare Jai (2007)
Dhukhpari Shukhpari (Fairy of Sadness Fairy of Happiness)

Television drama
Ekannoborti
Choruibhati
Naal Piran (Red Shirt)
Korimon Bewa
Ghure Daranor Swapno
69
No Man's Land
Nikhoj Shongbad

Filmography
Script for Bachelor, 2004
Script for Made in Bangladesh (directed by Mostafa Sarwar Farooki)
Script of Third Person Singular Number

Awards
Euro Shishu Shahitya Award 2006 BACHSAS Award for Best Sreenplay TENASINAS Award for Best Screenplay

Humayun Kabir Dhali

Humayun Kabir Dhali (30 October) is a writer and journalist in Bangladesh. He has written 40 books, both fiction and non-fiction, which span a wide range of genres from science fiction to children's stories. Humayun Kabir Dhali has a random and spontaneous presence through the Little Magazine now he walks on the ground of novels only. His presence in the national newspapers is also noteworthy. His first book, Mon shudu mon chuyesay, a love story, was published in 1991.

Matiur Rahman

Matiur Rahman is the editor of Daily Prothom Alo, the largest circulated Bangla language daily in Bangladesh. He is the recipient of the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts.

Rahman was born in 1946 and grew up in the era of decolonization and fervent nationalism that gave birth to East Pakistan and then Bangladesh. He went on to earn his post graduate degree in Statistics from University of Dhaka in 1967. He became a Marxist and for twenty-one years edited Dhaka’s socialist weekly Ekota. When communism’s failures gave him second thought, he withdrew from leftist politics to concentrate on journalism.

In 1998 he founded Prothom Alo, or First Light, a daily newspaper. Rahman established Prothom Alo’s credibility by exposing the missteps of both the government and its foes and by aggressively covering corruption, terrorism and human rights violations. The newspaper’s constructive advocacy and Rahman’s own unsparing editorials attracted legions of readers. Today it reaches five million of them.

Prothom Alo naturally covered the alarming rise of acid throwing in Bangladesh. But in 2000 a heartrending case involving a fifteen-year-old girl riveted Rahman’s attention. He determined to harness the resources of his newspaper to fight the scourge.

In prominent daily appeals, Rahman now declared war on acid throwers and called upon his readers to contribute to the Prothom Alo Aid Fund for acid victims. With scarred women at his side, he solicited donations at rallies and press conferences and called upon celebrities and volunteers to carry the appeal throughout the country. People from all walks of life and even Bangladeshis abroad became donors. Rahman acknowledged each small gift in the newspaper and steered help directly to the victims: money for burn treatments, plastic surgery, legal fees, and living expenses plus new dwellings for some and income-generating assets such as milking cows, sewing machines, cultivable lands, and shops for others. At the same time, Prothom Alo pressured the government to strengthen laws against acid attacks and the reckless sale of dangerous chemicals.

The response to Rahman’s appeal reassured him that "the society is not sleeping." By June 2005, some 8.2 million taka had been coursed to over one hundred victims. Moreover, in 2002 the country’s Acid Crimes Prevention Act and Acid Control Act stiffened penalties for acid throwers and tightened licensing requirements for acid sales.

In electing Matiur Rahman to receive the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts, the board of trustees recognizes his wielding the power of the press to crusade against acid throwing and to stir Bangladeshis to help its many victims.

Qazi Motahar Hossain

Qazi Motahar Hossain is a famous Bangladeshi author, scientist, statistician and journalist. He is also renowned for his unique style of literature. He had intimate friendship with poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, Kazi Abdul Odud and many other eminent figures. He is well known as a chess genius.

Qazi Motahar Hossain was born in his mothers village Lakshmipur in the district of Kushtia in 1897. His father was Qazi Gaohar Uddin Ahmed and mother was Tasirunnesa. He passed his childhood in his fathers village Bagmara in Faridpur. He received his earliest education from his father and from the village primary school.

He entered Kushtia Zilla School for Secondary studies.Among the teachers he specially recalled of Jyotindranath Roy and Jatindra Mohan Biswas. Hossain learnt Algebra, Geometry, Conic section and Mechanics from Mr. Jyotindranath Roy. Mr. Roy introduced the Mechanics course in the school solely for Hossain as he was the only student of Mechanics. In 1915 he passed Entrance from there.

After passing entrance Mr. Hossain admitted himself at the Presidency College, Calcutta for I Sc course. There he was highly impressed by eminent teachers like Praphulla Chandra Ghosh (English), Mr. Sterling (English), Praphulla Chandra Roy (Chemistry). But unfortunately due to an unpleasant experience he transferred himself to Rajshahi College in the middle of academic year. Here he also found many good teachers. Beside his studies Hossain showed considerable skill and interest in sports such as football, Tennis etc. In 1917 he passed I Sc from there.

Motahar Hossain choose Dhaka College to take higher studies in Mathematics and Physics. In 1917 he arrived Dhaka and got admitted to Dhaka College.Here he found W A Jenkins (Physics), Wrangler Bhupati Mohan Sen (Mathematics), Bankim Das Banerjee (Mathematics) and others as teachers. In 1919 he passed B A (Hons.) from here.

In 1920 he married Sajeda Khatun with whom he passed the long eventful course of his life. Later their children were famous peoples, they are Qazi Anwar Hussain (famous author), Jobaida Mirza, Sanjida Khatun (author and singer).

He passed M A in Physics in 1921 from Dhaka College under Calcutta University. Before his M A examination he got important help from Satyen Bose who came to Dhaka in 1921 as a reader of Physics of newly established Dhaka University.

With the encouragement and stimulation of Satyen Bose he went to Calcutta in order to study Statistics. This was a fresh new subject in the subcontinent until then. Great statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis had just established Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta to introduce the new subject to Indian students. Hossain was taught the subject with great care of Mr. Mahalanobis. In 1938 he got a Diploma in Statistics from ISI.

He died in Dhaka on 9 October 1981. Whole nation mourned deeply at his death.

A postage stamp was published by Bangladesh Postal Department to respect his contributions.

Qazi Motahar Hossain joined the newly established Dhaka University in 1921 as a demonstrator of Physics while he was a student of M A at Dhaka College. In 1923 he was promoted to assistant-lecturer. In 1948 Statistics M A was established with his own effort and he joined the department. He retired from Dhaka University in 1961. In 1964 he founded the Institute of Statistical Research and Training and since then it is considered as the country's leading school of Statistics. From 1964-1966 he served as the founder-director of the institute. He retired from the position of director in 1966 due to old age. Dhaka University appointed him as honorary Professor Emeritus in 1969.

Motahar Hossain also showed unusual skill in the game of chess. For seven times he was the all India chess champion. He is known as the chess-guru of Bangladesh as he has popularized the game to his generation. Many of his pupils later flourished in the game.

In 1920's and 1930s he became involved with "Buddhir Mukti Andolon" (Freedom of thought movement) with his intimate friend Kazi Abdul Odud and others as a convener and editor of the organizations official proceeding named Shikha.

In 1975 after the liberation of Bangladesh he became the national professor of Bangladesh. Until his death in 1981 he decorated the position.

Hossain wrote many books regarding science, religion, culture and music. Some of his books are:
Shancharan (1937)
Nazrul Kabya Porichiti (Introduction to Nazrul`s Poetry) (1955)
Gonit Shastrer Itihas (History of Mathematics) (1970)
Alok Bigyan (Optics) (1974)
Nirbachito Probondho (Collected Essays) (1976)

He is specially remembered for his implementation of logic, lucidity and simplicity of language and clarity in his writings.His first published book Shancharan was praised by Rabindranath Tagore.[1] Bangla Academy has published his complete works in four volumes.

He had also given many speeches in many occasions and written many biographical notes.A collection of his eighteen biographical essays was published in 2004 under the title Smritikatha by Qazi Motahar Hossain Foundation.The foundation has also reprinted his Gonit Shastrer Itihas in the same year.

He was a founder fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences

Awards
Throughout his life Motahar Hossain achieved many prestigious awards and was honoured by many person and organizations.Some prizes and honours he was conferred are:
Bangla Academy Shahitya Purashkar (Bangla Academy Literary Award)(1966).
Honorary D Sc from Dhaka University (1974).
Nasir Uddin Swarna Padak (Golden Plaque) (1977).
Swadhinota Dibas Purashkar (Independence Day Award) (1979).
Mukta Dhara Shahitya Purashkar (1980)

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury (born 12 January 1965 in Sylhet, Bangladesh) is the editor of the Bangladeshi tabloid The Weekly Blitz the most influential anti-Jihadist newspaper in Bangladesh, and editor-in-chief of vernacular weekly Jamjamat.

In 1996 he established the first private television channel in Bangladesh, A-21 TV[citation needed]. He has been physically assaulted three times and once kidnapped in Bangladesh for his anti-jihadist views and his willingness to work with Israeli group for intercultural understanding.

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury [known to his friends as Shoaib], is the eldest child of his parents.

In 1989, Choudhury started his journalistic career as a correspondent for Soviet Union's TASS News Agency. In 1991, he was promoted to the rank of chief correspondent of Itar-Tass News Agency in Bangladesh. He left Itar-TASS in 1996, as after the fall of Soviet Union: the news agency had to close down many of its offices in the world.

In 1996, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury established the first private television channel in Bangladesh named A-21 TV

Choudhury has written a number of books in Bangla and English. His latest book, Injustice & Jihad, was published in October 2007. In May 2008, Italian publication house Neftasia published Choudhury's book titled Non Sono Colpevole in Italian. This was the first book by any contemporary Bangladeshi journalist translated into Italian.

Inside Madrassa was published in October 2009 in Bangladesh. In this book, Choudhury gave extensive information on madrassa education, including unknown facts, Jihadist orientation inside madrassa, hate speech and many other important thus interesting topics, mostly related to radical Islam.

Choudhury opened a branch of the Israel-based International Forum for Literature and Culture of Peace. He wrote about the rise of al-Qaeda in Bangladesh and has written articles critical of anti-Israeli and antisemitic attitudes in Muslim-majority countries.

Choudhury is an Advisory Board Member of the Islam-Israel Fellowship,[5] a group co-founded by Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi.

PEN USA gave their Freedom to Write Award to Choudhury in 2005 in recognition of his commitment to courageous journalism under extreme adversity.

The American Jewish Committee presented its Moral Courage Award to him in May 2006, but the Bangladesh government prevented him from visiting the United States to receive the honor.

HRH Prince Albert of Monaco awarded the 2007 Monaco Media Award to Choudhury for outstanding courage and commitment in confronting the culture of religious hatred.

Choudhury also received the Key to Englewood, (a city in New Jersey, United States), from Mayor Michael Wildes. Teaneck, New Jersey Mayor Elie Katz also gave him the certificate of moral courage in 2007 on behald of the City of Teaneck.

In July 2006, a mob stormed the premises of Choudhury's tabloid and beat him, fracturing his ankle.[8] In September, a judge ordered the case continued, in spite of the government's reluctance to prosecute, as Choudhury had "spoiled" the "image of Bangladesh" and "hurt the sentiments of Muslims" by lauding Jews, Hindus and Christians. After the police detail that had been posted to the Blitz's offices since the July bombing had vanished, the offices were ransacked and Choudhury was badly beaten by a mob. When he lodged a formal complaint with the police, an arrest warrant was issued for him. The U.S. Embassy in Dhaka sent an observer to his trial.

Later, Choudhury lodged a case in the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate against the attackers, mostly belonging to the Cultural Wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)

On 18 March 2008, members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) abducted Choudhury from his office at gun point. He was blind folded and taken to RAB office. In the late hours, Choudhury was released. Series of written complaints were sent with the military controlled interim government on this incident, but no action was ever taken by the Bangladesh authorities against the RAB men

On 22 February 2009, armed thugs belonging to ruling Bangladesh Awami League entered Choudhury's office, ransacked the entire office and physically assaulted him and other members of the Weekly Blitz newspaper. Although a specific case was already lodged with the police station on the day of occurrence, there is no action yet by the law enforcing agencies against the culprits who are sheltered by the ruling party.

The same month, the military-controlled interim government withdrew police protection from Choudhury's residence.

Choudhury is facing charges of sedition, treason, blasphemy and espionage since January 2004 for having tried to attend a conference of the Hebrew Writers' Association in Tel Aviv. He violated the Passport Act, by attempting to travel to Israel in November 2003. The Act forbids citizens from visiting countries with which Bangladesh does not maintain diplomatic relations, usually punishable by a fine of $8. It may be mentioned here that Bangladesh currently does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan and Israel. However, the travel ban on Taiwan was silently lifted while people started business with Taiwan in spite of the travel ban. On 29 November he was taken into police custody[10] and, as he tells it, blindfolded, beaten and interrogated for 10 days in an attempt to extract a confession that he was spying for Israel. He spent the next 17 months in solitary confinement, and was denied medical treatment for his glaucoma. On intervention of U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk, who spoke to Bangladesh's ambassador to the U.S., Choudhury's was released on bail, though the charges were not dropped.[9]

He is the editor of Weekly Blitz www.weeklyblitz.net, the most influential anti-Jihadist newspaper in Bangladesh, and editor-in-chief of vernacular weekly Jamjamat.

Choudhury's articles appear in various international press on a regular basis[citation needed]. He also is considered to be an expert on topics such as Islamist militancy and extensively works on finding root cause of Jihad[citation needed]. He is also invited by many reputed institutions around the world as a Speaker to give lecture on such topics as Islamist millitancy, jihad, and Hate Speech and Political Islam.

Choudhury rejects the assertion by Geert Wilders that there are moderate Muslims, but no moderate Islam. "My Islam derives from the Koran. This teaches that Muslims, Jews and Christians will all be rewarded for good deeds and punished for evil," he has said.

Choudhury was arrested on November 29, 2003 at Dhaka airport. The following is the news report from The Daily Star, the leading English language daily in Bangladesh:

A man was arrested at Shahjalal International Airport yesterday morning on his way to Tel Aviv for his alleged Mossad connection. A leader of Bangladesh chapter of ‘Iflaq’, a Haifa-based organisation, Salauddin Shoib Chowdhury was carrying compact discs (CD's) and papers containing write-ups on some sensitive issues including ‘minority repression and the al Qaeda network in Bangladesh’, police said. Shoaib was managing director of the planned Inquilab Television until he was sacked last year. Members of different law enforcement agencies and Shahjalal immigration officials apprehended him at the immigration counter minutes before he was to leave for Bangkok by the Biman flight, BG-084, at 10:30am. "He introduced himself as the editor of the ‘Blitz’, an entertainment magazine published from Dhaka, and said he was going to Bangkok," a top police officer said yesterday on condition of anonymity. "Searching his luggage, we found a number of CD-formatted write-ups and papers that clearly proved his contact with Tel Aviv," he said. "He was going to take part in a conference in Tel Aviv scheduled to begin on 1 December", the police officer added. It was however learnt that Shoaib’s movements were being monitored for quite sometime on suspicion of his connection with the Israeli secret service ‘Mossad’. "He was going to Bangkok first and was scheduled to fly for Israel, a country Bangladeshi citizens are barred from travelling to," he said.

After release from 17-months imprisonment, Choudhury wrote in an Israeli newspaper "I also stand before you perhaps as a living contradiction: a Zionist, a defender of Israel, and a devout, practicing Muslim, living in a Moslem country." He said "I believe in the justice of the Zionist dream. I also acknowledge this historical reality: that the world has endeavored to crush that dream and, yes, even to destroy the viability of the Jewish people. At the same time, I live in an environment where people believe just as passionately in an opposing view—one that sees Israel as illegitimate; and the Jewish people as evil incarnate."[13]

Choudhury's father Ghulam Ather Choudhuri died on 29 March 2003, while his mother Sharifa Choudhury died on 9 August 2005. Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury was in prison when his mother died. The then government in Bangladesh refused petition by his family for him to attend his mother's funeral Ref: http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com/pdf/200708.pdf.
[edit] Inqilab Television

Choudhury was the managing director of Inqilab Television, a private television venture run by a major publication the Daily Inqilab. Choudhury was also a correspondent for the Daily Inqilab. Choudhury owned a 30% stake, worth approximately $1 million according to Choudhury, in Inqilab Television. Choudhury claims his ownership share in the television station was sold without his consent. In first court appearance, Choudhury claimed that his arrest was motivated by the financial dispute over his ownership stake in Inqilab Television.
[edit] Support for Choudhury

The campaign to get the government of Bangladesh to drop all charges against Choudhury is being led by Dr. Richard Benkin. Benkin, like Choudhury, is an Advisory Board Member of Islam-Israel Fellowship.[14] Dr. Benkin and Choudhury together formed Interfaith Strength to disseminate information about Choudhury's case. On September 6, 2005 Dr. Richard Benkin registered[15] as a foreign agent with the US Department of Justice, under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).[16] According to the document filed with the US government, Dr. Benkin registered as a foreign agent with Lutfuzzaman Babar, former State Minister for Home Affairs of Bangladesh, as his principal, for a sum of $5000 per month to prepare and disseminate informational materials via radio or TV broadcasts, magazines or newspaper articles, letters or telegrams, press releases and the internet. He was hired to disseminate this information to public officials, civic groups or associations, legislators, newspapers and editors. Benkin's decision was made in response to initially positive actions by the Bangladeshi government with respect to Choudhury as well as human rights issues. When it became clear to him, however, that these moves by the BNP government were only perfunctory, he ceased working with the government after only one month. Benkin refers to Babar as one of many sources of information about the Choudhury case in a few newspaper articles[17][18][19] of that period. Although those who have been trying to cover up the Bangladeshi government's role in persecuting Choudhury (especially leftists related to the then-opposition Awami League, a left-center party) have tried to make much of Benkin's former relationship with the Bangladeshi government, they have failed to convince anyone that it has any bearing on the case.

In 2008, Kazi Aiz, a fundamentalist Muslim and an official of an Islamic organization, Khalefat Andolin Bangladesh [KAB], has publicly sided with Choudhury, calling the charges against him "false" and called on the Bangladeshi government to end its ban on travel to Israel.

On February 15, 2007, House Resolution 64 passed the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs without opposition. The resolution, introduced by Representatives Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Nita Lowey (D-NY), calls on the government of Bangladesh to drop all charges against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury charged with sedition for writing pro-Israel reports. The penalty for conviction could be death. The vote on the resolution was held on 13 March 2007 and the resolution passed by a vote of 409 to 1 with 4 members voting present.[22]
[edit] Impact

Choudhury and the Weekly Blitz have influenced government policy and popular opinion in Bangladesh. The articles have prompted the Bangladeshi government to ban the Islamist group Hizb-ut Tahrir and the antisemitic publication Dajjal, which is published by another notorious Islamist militancy group named Hizbut Towhid. A campaign against Muslim supremacist Zakir Naik led Britain and Canada to refuse him entry.

Sanjeeb Choudhury

Sanjeeb Choudhury (December 25, 1962-November 19, 2007 was a Bangladeshi singer, lyricist and journalist. He is one of the two main members of famous Bengali Band Dalchhut with Bappa Mazumder. Sanjeeb was the composer in Dalchhut's four albums and wrote and tuned many songs with his popular voice and has one solo album named Swapnobaji. He is also a famous journalist and worked for the newspaper Ajker Kagoj, Bhorer Kagoj and Jaijaidin. On November 19, 2007, he died at the Intensive Care Unit of Apollo Hospital in Dhaka [2] after a sudden sickness on 15 November 2007. He was an activist during the mass upsurge against the autocratic regime of Hossain Mohammad Ershad.2 Journalism

Sanjeeb Choudhury is performing with Dalchhut

Sanjeeb Choudhury was born at Baniachang Upazila in Habiganj on 25 December 1962. He graduated from the journalism department of Dhaka University and orgainsed various cultural programs and taught his classmates how to sing during his time at the university.[4] During the mass movement against Ershad his poems gained popularity as he was known to his Dhaka University colleagues as Sanjeebda or Brother Sanjeeb. He initially sang at a band group named Shongkhochil.[1] During the mid 90's he and Bappa Mazumder formed their band Dalchhut which within a short time gained immense popularity. In 1996, Dalchhut released their first album Ahh. The duet song in the album Shada Moila Rongila Pale become an instant hit. Dalchhut's second album was Hridoypur, which happened to be their most popular album. In the album Bappa and Sanjeeb sang the song Gari Chole Na of Shah Abdul Karim which was shown on famous magazine Ittadi. Sanjeeb's solo Ami Tomakei Bole Debo was another popular song of that album. In Dalchhut's third album Aakaashchuri, folk tuned song Bioscope was again shown on Ittadi and became famous. Sanjeeb's solo album Swapnobaji was released in 2005. In 2007, Dalchhut's final album Jochhnabihar was released after a long break. Sanjeeb wrote the title song Jochhnabihar and tuned and sang some others.

After his graduation from the journalism department of Dhaka University, Sanjeeb Choudhury worked in a number of dailies. He started off at "Ajker Kagoj" and later joined "Bhorer Kagoj" and established himself as a feature writer. He was the departmental editor of Mela which was a popular supplement of the paper.[4] Subsequently he became the editor of Istikutum and Pathok Forum which brought the readers of the newspaper to a place where they had the chance to express their views. He taught and trained many young journalists and run many workshops. He also worked in Jaijaidin for a while.

His nickname was Kajal, kept by his family. He suffered and survived an accident during the release of the first Dalchhut album "Ahh". He loved having "panta-bhaat". His last released songs after his death are "Kingbodonti", named after his daughter, and "Jochhnaduari", available in the album "Surjosnane chol" by Bappa Mazumder.


Taslima Nasrin

Taslima Nasrin (born 25 August 1962) is a Bengali Bangladeshi ex-doctor turned author who has been living in exile since 1994. From a modest literary profile in the late 1980s, she rose to global fame by the end of the 20th century owing to her feminist views and her criticism of Islam in particular and of religion in general.

Since fleeing Bangladesh in 1994 she has lived in many countries and currently (June 2011) lives in New Delhi. She works to build support for secular humanism, freedom of thought, equality for women, and human rights by publishing, lecturing, and campaigning.

She was born to Rajab Ali and Idul Ara in the town of Mymensingh in 1962. Her father was a physician, and she followed in his footsteps.Her mother was a devout Muslim.After high school in 1976 (SSC) and higher secondary studies in college (HSC) in 1978, she studied medicine at the Mymensingh Medical College an affiliated medical college of the University of Dhaka and graduated in 1984 with an MBBS degree;[5] in college, she showed a propensity for poetry by writing as well as editing a poetry journal. After graduation, she practiced Gynaecology at a family planning clinic in Mymensingh,where she routinely examined young girls who had been raped,"[6] and heard women in the delivery room cry out in despair if their baby was a girl.[7] She was reassigned in 1990 to work in Dhaka.[3] Born into a Muslim family she became an atheist over time. In course of writing she took a feminist approach

In 1982 she fell in love with poet Rudra Mohammad Shahidullah and fled home to marry him. They divorced in 1986. Later she married journalist and editor Nayeemul Islam Khan; they divorced in 1991. In 1991 she married Minar Mahmood, editor of the now defunct weekly Bichinta, they divorced in 1992.

Early in her literary career, she wrote mainly poetry, and published half a dozen collections of poetry between 1986 and 1993, often with female oppression as a theme, and often containing very graphic language.[7] She started publishing prose in the early 1990s, and produced three collections of essays and four novels before the publication of her 1993 novel Lajja, or Shame, in which a Hindu family is persecuted by Muslims. This publication changed her life and career dramatically.

Following the publication of Lajja, Nasrin suffered a number of physical and other attacks. She wrote against Islamic philosophy and the people of Bangladesh took it angrily. Many Muslims became angry about her and called to ban her novel. In October 1993, an Islamic fundamentalist group called the Council of Islamic Soldiers offered a bounty for her death.[7][10] In May 1994 she was interviewed by the Kolkata edition of The Statesman, which quoted her as calling for a revision of the Quran; she claims she only called for revision of the Sharia, the islamic religious law.[3] In August 1994 she was brought up on "charges of making inflammatory statements," and faced death threats from Islamic fundamentalists and religious Muslims. A major religious organization claims her to be a "paid agent" of anti-islamists.[citation needed] A hundred thousand demonstrators called her "an apostate appointed by imperial forces to vilify Islam"; a "militant faction threatened to loose thousands of poisonous snakes in the capital unless she was executed."[11] After spending two months in hiding, at the end of 1994 she escaped to Sweden. One of the results of her exile was that she did not get to practice medicine anymore; she became a full-time writer and activist.

After fleeing Bangladesh in 1994, Nasrin spent the next ten years in exile in the West. She returned to the east and relocated to Kolkata, India, in 2004, where she lived until 2007. After renewed unrest broke out, and after spending several months in hiding, Nasrin left for the West again in 2008.
1994-2004, exile in the West

Leaving Bangladesh towards the end of 1994, Nasrin lived in exile in Western Europe and North America for ten years. Her Bangladeshi passport had been revoked; she was granted citizenship by the Swedish government and took refuge in Germany.She even had to wait for six years (1994–1999) to get a visa to visit India, and never got a Bangladeshi passport to return to the country when her mother,[13] and later her father were on their death beds.

In March 2000, she visited Mumbai to promote a translation of her novel Shodh (translated by Marathi author Ashok Shahane, the book was called Phitam Phat). Secular groups seized upon the occasion to celebrate freedom of expression, while "Muslim fundamentalist groups...threatened to burn her alive.
2004-2007, life in Kolkata

In 2004, she was granted a renewable temporary residential permit by India and moved to Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, which shares a common heritage and language with Bangladesh; in an interview in 2007, after she had been forced to flee, she called Kolkata her home.[15] The government of India extended her visa to stay in the country on a periodic basis, though it refused to grant her Indian citizenship. While living in Kolkata, Nasrin regularly contributed to Indian newspapers and magazines, including Anandabazar Patrika and Desh, and, for some time, wrote a weekly column in the Bengali version of The Statesman. Again her anti-Islam comments met with opposition from religious fundamentalists: in 2006, Syed Noorur Rehaman Barkati, the imam of Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Mosque, admitted offering money to anyone who "blackened [that is, publicly humiliated] Ms Nasreen's face. Even abroad she caused controversy: in 2005, she tried to read an anti-war poem titled "America" to a large Bengali crowd at the North American Bengali Conference at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was booed off the stage.[17] Back in India, the "All India Muslim Personal Board (Jadeed) offered 500,000 rupees for her beheading in March 2007. The group's president, Tauqir Raza Khan, said the only way the bounty would be lifted was if Nasrin "apologises, burns her books and leaves.

On August 9, 2007, Nasrin was in Hyderabad to present the Telugu translation of one of her novels, Shodh, when she was attacked by a mob of violent intruders, led by legislators from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, a Muslim political party.[19][20] A week later, on August 17, Muslim leaders in Kolkata revived an old fatwa against her, urging her to leave the country and offering an unlimited amount of money to anybody who would kill her.On November 21, Kolkata witnessed a violent protest against Nasrin by neo-Jihadis. A protest organized by the militant islamist "All India Minority Forum" caused chaos in the city and forced the army's deployment to restore order.[22] After the riots, Nasrin was forced to move from Kolkata, her "adopted city, to Jaipur, and to New Delhi the following day.

The government of India kept Nasrin in an undisclosed location in New Delhi, effectively under house arrest, for more than seven months.In January 2008, she was selected for the Simone de Beauvoir award in recognition of her writing on women's rights, but declined to go to Paris to receive the award, fearing that she would not be allowed to re-enter India.[29] She explained that "I don't want to leave India at this stage and would rather fight for my freedom here,"[30] but she had to be hospitalized for three days with several complaints.The house arrest quickly acquired an international dimension: in a letter to London-based human rights organisation Amnesty International, India’s former foreign secretary Muchkund Dubey urged the organization to pressure the Indian government so Nasrin could safely return to Kolkata.

From New Delhi, Nasrin commented: "I'm writing a lot, but not about Islam, It's not my subject now. This is about politics. In the last three months I have been put under severe pressure to leave [West] Bengal by the police. In an email interview from the undisclosed safehouse, Nasrin talked about the stress caused by "this unendurable loneliness, this uncertainty and this deathly silence." She canceled the publication of the sixth part of her autobiography Nei Kichu Nei ("No Entity"), and—under pressure—deleted some passages from Dwikhondito, the controversial book that was the boost for the riots in Kolkata.She was forced to leave India on March 19, 2008.

Nasrin moved to Sweden in 2008 and later worked as a research scholar at New York University.[34] Since, as she claims, "her soul lived in India," she also pledged her body to that country, by awarding it for posthumous medical use to Gana Darpan, a Kolkata-based NGO, in 2005.[35] In June 2009 she sent a petition to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for return to Bangladesh.[citation needed] She eventually returned to India, but was forced to stay in New Delhi as the West Bengal government refused to permit her entry.

Nasrin started writing poetry when she was thirteen. While still at college in Mymensingh, she published and edited a literary magazine, Senjuti (Light in the dark), from 1978 to 1983. She published her first collection of poems in 1986. Her second collection, Nirbashito Bahire Ontore ("Banished within and without", 1989) was a big success.She succeeded in attracting a wider readership when she started writing columns in late 1980s, and, in the early 1990s, she began writing novels, for which she has won significant acclaim.[23] In all, she has written more than thirty books of poetry, essays, novels, short stories, and memoirs, and her books have been translated into 20 different languages.

Her own experience of sexual abuse during adolescence and her work as a gynaecologist influenced her a great deal in writing about the treatment of women in Islam.[6] Her writing is characterized by two connected elements: her struggle with the Islam of her native culture, and her feminist philosophy. She cites Virginia Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir as influences, and, when pushed to think of one closer to home, Begum Rokeya, who lived during the time of undivided Bengal.[36] Her later poetry also evidences a connection to place, to Bangladesh and India.

In 1989 Nasrin began to contribute to the weekly political magazine Khaborer Kagoj, edited by her second husband, Nayeemul Islam Khan, and published from Dhaka. Her feminist views and anti-religion remarks articles succeeded in drawing broad attention, and she shocked the religious and conservative society of Bangladesh by her radical comments and suggestions.[citation needed] Later she collected these columns in a volume titled Nirbachita Column, which in 1992 won her her first Ananda Purashkar award, a prestigious award for Bengali writers. During her life in Kolkata, she contributed a weekly essay to the Bengali version of The Statesman, called Dainik Statesman.

In 1992 Nasrin produced two novellas which failed to draw attention.

Her breakthrough novel Lajja (Shame) was published in 1993, and attracted wide attention because of its controversial subject matter. It contained the graphic description of a rape of a Hindu woman by a Muslim man.[38][39] Initially written as a thin documentary, Lajja grew into a full-length novel as the author later revised it substantially. In six months' time, it sold 50,000 copies in Bangladesh before being banned by the government that same year.

Her other famous novel is French Lover published in 2002.

Her memoirs are renowned for their candidness, which has led to a number of them being banned in Bangladesh and India. Amar Meyebela (My Girlhood, 2002), the first volume of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladeshi government in 1999 for "reckless comments" against Islam and the prophet Mohammad. Utal Hawa (Wild Wind), the second part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladesh government in 2002.Ka (Speak up), the third part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladeshi High Court in 2003. Under pressure from Indian Muslim activists, the book, which was published in West Bengal as Dwikhandita, was banned there also; some 3,000 copies were seized immediately.The decision to ban the book was criticized by "a host of authors" in West Bengal, but the ban wasn't lifted until 2005. Sei Sob Ondhokar (Those Dark Days), the fourth part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladesh government in 2004.

She received her second Ananda Purashkar award in 2000, for her memoir Amar Meyebela (My Girlhood, published in English in 2002).

Nasrins life is the subject of a number of plays and songs, in the east and the west. The Swedish singer Magoria sang "Goddess in you, Taslima, and the French band Zebda composed "Don't worry, Taslima" as an homage.

Her work has been adapted for TV and even turned into music. Jhumur was a 2006 TV serial based on a story written especially for the show. Bengali singers like Fakir Alamgir, Samina Nabi, Rakhi Sen sang her songs.Steve Lacy, the jazz soprano saxophonist, met Nasrin in 1996 and collaborated with her on an adaptation of her poetry to music. The result, a "controversial" and "compelling" work called The Cry, was performed in Europe and North America.[51] Initially, Nasrin was to recite during the performance, but these recitations were dropped after the 1996 Berlin world premiere because of security concerns.

Nasrin has been criticized by writers and intellectuals in both Bangladesh and West Bengal for targeted scandalization. Because of "obnoxious, false and ludicrous" comments in Ka, "written with the 'intention to injure the reputation of the plaintiff'", Syed Shamsul Haq, Bangladeshi poet and novelist, filed a defamation suit against Nasrin in 2003. In the book, she mentions that Haq confessed to her that he had had a relationship with his sister-in-law.A West Bengali poet, Hasmat Jalal, did the same; his suit led to the High Court banning the book, which was published in India as Dwikhondito.

Nearly 4 million dollars were claimed in defamation lawsuits against Nasrin by fellow writers in Bangladesh and West Bengal after the publication of Ka/Dwikhandita. Writer Sunil Ganguli, with 24 other intellectuals pressured the West Bengal government to ban Nasrin's book in 2003.There was hate campaign against Taslima even among the writers, because she wrote about her intimate life story divulging her affairs with some men. And because some men happened to be known, so Taslima had to answer why she wrote about known people without their permission and some commented that she did it to earn fame. Taslima defended herself against all the allegations. She wrote why she dared not to hide her sexual relations,[56] she said that she wrote her life's story, not others'. Yet Nasrin enjoyed support of Bengali writers and intellectuals like Annada Shankar Ray, Sibnarayan Ray and Amlan Dutta.

Recently she was supported and defended by personalities such as author Mahasweta Devi, theater director Bibhas Chakrabarty, poet Joy Goswami, artist Prakash Karmakar and Paritosh Sen.[58] In India, noted writers Arundhati Roy, Girish Karnad, and many others defended her when she was under house arrest in Delhi in 2007, and co-signed a statement calling on the Indian government to grant her permanent residency in India or, should she ask for it, citizenship.[59] In Bangladesh Showkat Osman (writer), Shamsur Rahman (poet) and Kabir Chaudhury (writer and philosopher)[60] also supported her strongly.

Nasrin created the Edulwara scholarship in her mother's name to give scholarship (50,000-100,000 taka) to twenty female students of 7th to 10th grade from economically poor families in Mymensingh, Bangladesh.

She started an organisation called Dharmamukta Manab-bai mancha ("Humanist organisation free from religion") in Kolkata. The organisation's aim was to enlighten and spread secular education, and to fight for women's rights and a uniform and equal civil code.

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Taslima has received a number of international awards in recognition of her uncompromising demand for freedom of expression. Awards and Honours given to her include the following:

Ananda literary Award, India, 1992
Natyasava Award, Bangladesh, 1992
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thoughts from the European Parliament, 1994
Human Rights Award from the Government of France, 1994
Edict of Nantes Prize from France, 1994
Kurt Tucholsky Prize, Swedish PEN, Sweden, 1994]
Hellman-Hammett Grant from Human Rights Watch, USA, 1994
Humanist Award from Human-Etisk Forbund, Norway, 1994
Feminist of the Year from Feminist Majority Foundation, USA, 1994
Honorary Doctorate from Ghent University, Belgium, 1995
Scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service, Germany, 1995
Monismanien Prize from Uppsala University, Sweden, 1995
Distinguished Humanist Award from International Humanist and Ethical Union,Great Britain, 1996
Humanist Laureate from International Academy for Humanism, USA, 1996
Ananda literary Award, India, 2000
Taslima Nasrin is receiving Ananda Award in 2000.
Global Leader for Tomorrow, World Economic Forum, 2000
Erwin Fischer Award, International League of non-religious and atheists (IBKA),[66] Germany, 2002
Freethought Heroine Award, Freedom From Religion Foundation,[67] USA, 2002
Fellowship at Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy,[68] John F.
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA, 2003
UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence,2004
Honorary Doctorate from American University of Paris, 2005[70]
Grand Prix International Condorcet-Aron, 2005
Sharatchandra literary award, West Bengal, India, 2006
Honorary citizenship of Paris, France, 2008
Simone de Beauvoir Prize, 2008
Fellowship at New York University, USA, 2009
Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, USA, 2009
Feminist Press award, USA, 2009

Poetry
Shikore Bipul Khudha (Hunger in the Roots), 1986
Nirbashito Bahire Ontore (Banished Without and Within), 1989
Amar Kichu Jay Ashe Ne (I Couldn’t Care Less), 1990
Atole Ontorin (Captive In the Abyss), 1991
Balikar Gollachut (Game of the Girls), 1992
Behula Eka Bhashiyechilo Bhela (Behula Floated the Raft Alone), 1993
Ay Kosto Jhepe, Jibon Debo Mepe (Pain Come Roaring Down, I’ll Measure Out My Life for You), 1994
Nirbashito Narir Kobita (Poems From Exile), 1996
Jolpodyo (Waterlilies), 2000
Khali Khali Lage (Feeling Empty), 2004
Kicchukhan Thako (Stay For A While), 2005
Bhalobaso? Cchai baso (It's your love! or a heap of trash!), 2007
Bondini (Prisoner), 2008

Essay collections
Nirbachito Column(Selected Columns), 1990
Jabo na keno? jabo (I will go; why won't I?), 1991
Noshto meyer noshto goddo (Fallen prose of a fallen girl), 1992
ChoTo choTo dukkho kotha (Tale of trivial sorrows), 1994
Narir Kono Desh Nei (Women have no country), 2007

Novels
Oporpokkho (The Opponent), 1992.
Shodh, 1992. ISBN 978-8188575053. Trans. in English as Getting Even.
Nimontron (Invitation), 1993.
Phera (Return), 1993.
Lajja, 1993. ISBN 978-0140240511. Trans. in English as Shame.
Bhromor Koio Gia (Tell Him The Secret), 1994.
Forashi Premik (French Lover), 2002.
Shorom (Shame Again), 2009.

Short Stories
Dukkhoboty meye (Sad girls), 1994
Minu, 2007

Autobiography
Amar Meyebela (My Girlhood), 1999 (ISBN 978-1586420512)
Utal Hawa (Wild Wind), 2002
Ka (Speak Up), 2003; published in West Bengal as Dwikhondito (Split-up in Two), 2003
Sei Sob Andhokar (Those Dark Days), 2004
Ami Bhalo Nei, Tumi Bhalo Theko Priyo Desh ("I am not okay, but you stay well my beloved homeland"), 2006.
Nei, Kichu Nei ( Nothing is there), 2010