KAZI Mohammad Idris is a notable name in the journalism and literature of Bangladesh. He was born on November 11, 1906, in Munshipara, Rangpur city, and died on March 22, 1975, in Dhaka. His journalism deeply reflected political awareness, secular outlook, and humanitarian ideals.
In the thirties and forties of the last century, Kazi Mohammad Idris worked in the editorial departments of Daily Krishak, Daily Nabajug, Weekly Millat, and Daily Ittehad published from Kolkata, and in the fifties and sixties, in Daily Insaf, Daily Sangbad, and Purbadesh published from Dhaka. He later edited Daily Ittehad and Bi-weekly Dhumketu (retaining the format of the Kolkata-published paper, published in 1954 and 1958, respectively) and Weekly Jugbani published from Dhaka. It is worth mentioning in this context that when the ownership and policy of the Daily Ittehad newspaper changed in 1957, he declined the offer to rejoin there. And in 1958, after Ayub Khan imposed martial law, the biweekly Dhumketu newspaper was shut down.
This article briefly discusses the reflection of political awareness, secular outlook, and humanitarian ideals in his editorial career at Weekly Millat. Weekly Millat was published on November 16, 1945, as the mouthpiece of the Provincial Muslim League. Abul Hashim was the editor of the paper. However, Kazi Mohammad Idris was primarily responsible for editing Millat and became known as the editor of Millat. Later, from March 1, 1946, Kazi Mohammad Idris took over as the acting editor of Millat and performed the editing work very efficiently. In the political situation of that time, the characteristics of Millat were even more important.
In the editorial titled 鈥楢fter the Riots鈥� on September 13, 1946, he wrote, 鈥�...Today, the first Millat is published after the brutal riots in Kolkata (referring to the riots following the Direct Action Day of August 16)... The heinous riots have created a completely new chapter not only in the history of the country but also in the history of the world... The countrymen are shocked and terrified by the devastation and carnage, and the soldiers of the country鈥檚 freedom are disappointed and dejected...鈥�
He realised that the communal problem of India could not be solved through the partition of the country. He was always vocal against imperialist and communal politics. In the editorial titled `Crippled Pakistan鈥� on June 6, 1947, he wrote, 鈥�...The deep conspiracy that foreign imperialists and domestic vested interests were engaged in to destroy the Muslims of Bengal has been successful...鈥� It is important to mention here that he did not view the Muslim population of East Bengal from a religious perspective; he considered this population a poverty-stricken, deprived class. His thoughts were consistent with the liberal and progressive political ideas of the then Muslim League (of which Abul Hashim was a leading proponent).
In 1950, he moved to Dhaka with his family. In 1951, he took a job as assistant director in the Publicity Department of the East Pakistan government. He was also associated with Daily Sangbad at that time. Daily Sangbad was first published on May 17, 1951. Although it initially appeared as a non-partisan newspaper, it soon became the mouthpiece of the then ruling Muslim League. At that time, the political existence of the Muslim League in East Pakistan was in crisis. Daily Sangbad became a supporter of the then chief minister Nurul Amin.
During the Language Movement of 1952, police fired on the protesters in Dhaka on February 21. Kazi Mohammad Idris played a crucial role in taking photographs of Salahuddin鈥檚 or Rafiquddin鈥檚 dead body during the language movement. He went to the medical college hospital and arranged for photographs to be taken secretly through photographer Amanul Haque. Later, those photos were printed in student leaflets and confiscated by the police. Besides, although there was an initiative to publish the photo in the Azad newspaper, it was not printed at the last moment. In 1970, photographer Amanul Haque gave Badruddin Umar two photos of the dead body 鈥� one of them was a head shot of the martyr, and the other was lying on a stretcher. Of these, the first photo was widely circulated in 1952 and later.
He wrote for Daily Sangbad until February 1952. When the Daily Sangbad authorities ordered him to write an editorial in favour of the police firing, Kazi Mohammad Idris resigned from the newspaper in protest.
Secularism is an important issue in the cultural and social context of Bangladesh. Kazi Mohammad Idris鈥檚 humanitarian and political outlook was very clear. In his personal and political life, he always demonstrated high thinking and high character. Kazi Mohammad Idris鈥檚 writings clearly express political awareness, secularism, and a humanitarian outlook. Reading his literature and essays (it should be noted that the Kazi Mohammad Idris Collected Works have been published in two volumes) reveals that he was a thinker ahead of his time. His thoughts continue to inspire society to think in new ways and remain relevant to us today.
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Sameeo Sheesh is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Advanced Research in Arts and Social Science, University of Dhaka.