The Daily Star at 25

What seemed the other day has been 25 years! We have lived through very interesting times, and time flies when redolent with interesting events. And since then we have been witness to developments in the country in various fields. And we hope that we have been able to carry these developments to the readers in their correct perspectives, both in essence and substance.  

We take pride in the fact that our birth coincided with the restoration of democracy in the country. And it is democracy and its attendant ancillaries that have been the main focus of this newspaper. We have never relented in calling for an unadulterated participatory democracy whose central focus should be the people, and we can take singular pride in our role as an unyielding critic of violent politics and hartal and boycott of Parliament. 

As we look back into the years that we have left behind, we draw satisfaction from the fact that our relentless support for freedom of press and freedom of speech has contributed, in whatever small measure, to the state of free media that we have today in Bangladesh. And we can justly claim that our role in the last 25 years demonstrates that a vibrant independent media is possible here. 

We have been consistent critic of abridgement of the rule of law and human rights caused by extrajudicial actions of the state agencies, and have fearlessly called for the punishment of the culprits, whoever that might be.

And for all this the groundwork was laid by four very distinguished persons of the country who, in their own right, had achieved fame even before joining The Daily Star. As we complete a quarter of a century of "Journalism without Fear or Favour", it is only fitting that we recall the contributions of the four founding members of The Daily Star who ventured literally into the unknown with a group of young journalists with the single minded vision of giving journalism in Bangladesh a new face, imbibed with the idea of upholding the motto – YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW. 

Mr. S M Ali, the founding Editor, gave us the intellectual leadership with the current editor by his side, while Mr. Azimur Rahman provided the overall guidance as the chairman; Mr. A S Mahmud gave the managerial guidance with Mr. Tawfiq Aziz Khan ably managing the daily affairs of the nascent newspaper. All of them are now departed, and to each and every one of them we owe a huge debt of gratitude.

Over the years, we have expanded the ambit of our responsibility to society through honouring various personalities and institutions who have contributed to the development of the country. We have also recognised the contribution of the youth to society by honouring young leaders and young achievers in schools and college certificate exams. 

And if we have been able to achieve all that, it has been possible only because of the support and trust of our readers, patrons, and well-wishers. Without your feedback and criticism, sometimes very harsh, we would not have been able to live up to the high standards that we had set for ourselves. We have treaded a long distance and the journey has been pleasurable and rewarding, knowing that we had the unstinted support of our readers, and for that we are eternally grateful to all of you. 

We will leave it to the readers to judge whether we have lived up to your expectations and whether we have acquitted ourselves well in fulfilling our responsibility to the people and the country. But we would like to assert that when it came to fairness, integrity, objectivity and honesty in treating and covering an event, we did not compromise on any. 

However, it has not been an easy ride for us. Journalism is not without its inherent hazards anywhere in the world since hard truths are seldom accepted with grace. But in spite of that we have not compromised on the issue of freedom of speech, on the issue of minority rights, and on the values that motivated and sustained the Liberation War which continue to guide us.

As we look to the future, we look with great hope, that in our journey into the next decade and further, we will be able to remove our shortcomings, whatever they may be, and uphold the true spirit of journalism reflected in our motto in serving the people and the country.