ZCZC
BSS-04
PM-ARTICLE-NEWSPAPER-REMINISCENCE-4 LAST DHAKA
My younger sister Sheikh Rehana and I were abroad at that time. Though we were spending our life as refugees after losing all our near and dear ones, we used to collect newspapers and went though those regularly.
In 1980, I went to London from New Delhi and stayed with Rehana for a few days. We used to take to schools and thus return homes some eight to 10 schoolchildren from that area where we were residing and for that we got one Pound for per child as wage. From that amount, I usually made the first spending which was to buy a newspaper. On my way home from school, I used to buy newspaper, breads and other essential items. If I could not take even a single newspaper in my hand at that time, it seemed to me that the whole the day was dull.
I always thought of my father and mother. They had taught me to think about the well-being of the country’s people and thus created dutifulness towards the people. They had also taught us high thinking and simple living and created awareness among us on humanity and dutifulness. Since I was groomed with that ideology, I have been able to accomplish an important task of serving the nation. I have been able to undertake plans and thus implement those in running the country through giving priority to human welfare. And the people of Bangladesh are getting its benefits.
Criticisms and discussions will remain in political life, but if anyone works with honesty and integrity and can take decisions from his or her self confidence, then its good results will surely reach the people.
Mass media could create awareness in society and after forming the government I gave all the government newspapers to the private sector.
But those who were against nationalization or were very much critical of it, again made criticisms when I went for the privatization, even waged movement and staged hunger-strike too.
I often think why they had started making criticisms against my father after enjoying all facilities as the jobs of the journalists, representing the newspapers which could exist in the war-ravaged country, were nationalized and they had started getting their salaries from the government.
On the other hand, when I left all of those media with the private sector, then they resorted to all means – waged movement, made criticisms, staged hunger-strike as I privatized the government newspapers. Why? I know no one will answer this.
When Awami League formed government in 1996, there were only a number of newspapers in Bangladesh, and those were also controlled from a special place. There were the state-run radio and television. But, there was no radio and television in the private sector.
At my own initiatives, I opened up the private sector. In this regard, I had two targets — one was to create employments and the other was to flourish our culture — incorporating modern technology-based culture and art with the current era so that modernism could be flourished and the people at the grassroots level could enjoy its benefits.
In our election manifesto of 2008, we had pledged to build a digital Bangladesh and digital devices are now making a special contribution to our daily life, especially it helps us to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic. For this, we could maintain our economic activities by taking timely steps. We have opened up the mobile phones in the private sector in 1996 and for this, the mobile phones are now in everyone’s hands.
Bangladesh’s cinema industry started its journey with the hands of my father and there is a huge scope for entertaining the mass people by making this industry modern and technology-based. Besides, this industry could play a role in the overall development and also in poverty alleviation.
We are now going through an abnormal situation due to the worldwide novel coronavirus pandemic. I am hopeful that this black cloud would go away soon and a new bright sun will rise. I wish lives of all become successful, beautiful. May all stay healthy and this is my desire.
BSS/MRI/MKD/GM/TAN/SH/GA/1214 hrs