Abdus Salam (editor)

Abdus Salam (2 August 1910 - 13 February 1977) was one of the most well-known newspaper editors of Pakistan. He edited The Pakistan Observer, which was later renamed The Bangladesh Observer after the liberation of Bangladesh. He was the editor of The Pakistan Observer from 1949 to 1972.

Early life

Abdus Salam was born on 2 August 1910 in the village South Dharmapur in the Chhagalnaiya Upazila (subdistrict) of Feni District in Bangladesh.

Salam had earned reputation as one of the best students of the country with top scholarships from Matriculation to MA of Calcutta University. He won the Tony Memorial Gold Medal for securing the first position in the BA in English Examination at Presidency College, Kolkata. After a brief period as a Professor of English at Feni College, he served in many government departments during the British period, including Income Tax, Civil Supplies and Audit. In Pakistan he became the Deputy Accountant General, but left government service because of its anti-Bengali policies, and joined The Pakistan Observer.

Journalism career

He became one of the most well known journalists in Bangladesh. He was the editor of The Pakistan Observer from 1949 to 1972. There was a break in the distribution of the newspaper from 1952 to 1954, when it was banned by the government. Salam wrote an editorial in 1952 comparing the nepotism of one of the early caliphs with that of Prime Minister Khawaja Nazimuddin. The article was interpreted as blasphemous. In 1954 the balance of political power changed and the ban on the Observer was lifted. Salam won a seat in the Provincial Parliament in the general elections.

He was jailed twice - first for the editorial on Nazimuddin, and then again when the press of The Morning News—a newspaper catering to the interests of non-Bengalis—was destroyed in a fire. Apart from editorials, Salam wrote two popular columns - "The Political Scene" and "The Idle Thoughts". His criticism of General Ayub Khan brought down the wrath of the dictator, and the Observer lost all its government advertisements. Salam, however, became a very respected figure nationally and even became the President of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors.

The Pakistan Observer was later renamed The Bangladesh Observer after the liberation of Bangladesh. After liberation, Salam wrote an editorial headed "The Supreme Test". In it, he criticized the new government of Bangladesh, and he was removed from the Observer. He continued to write for the Bangladesh Times.

Later life

Later, after the political change of 1975, he became the founder-Director-General of the Press Institute of Bangladesh [1].

He was awarded an Ekushey Padak when it was first introduced in 1976.

He died of a massive heart attack on 13 February 1977.

References

• Banglapedia, ed. Sirajul Islam (Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka: 2006)
• Bangla Academy Biographical Dictionary (Charitabhidhan), eds. Selina Hossain and Nurul Islam (Bangla Academy, Dhaka: 2003)

External links

1. Shamsuzzaman (2012). "Salam, Abdus1". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.

2. Islam, Manu (2012). "Bangladesh Observer, The". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.

3. Boi-Mela: Salam, Abdus [2]