December 17, 1971. As the spirit of independence dawned upon Bangladesh, a publication house in a corner of Chittagong was immersed in celebrating the victory in a way no other Bangladeshis were doing yet: taking out independent Bangladesh’s very first – and the only one until later in the afternoon – newspaper.
Dainik Azadi, a Chittagong-based newspaper, which began in 1960, had been operating for 11 years when it became an integral part of the very first moments of Bangladesh’s birth.
The one-page publication went out in red ink instead of the conventional black ink.
“We wanted it to be in red ink because we wanted to celebrate, because we wanted to emphasise on our accomplishment,” Mohammad Abdul Malek, editor of the newspaper, said in an interview with the Dhaka Tribune.
The paper on that day sold 50-60,000 copies.
“We started printing in the morning, printed throughout the day and late into the night,” said Malek, who had been the editor of the paper at that time.
They had later sent copies to other parts of the country, but initially December 17, 1971’s Dainik Azadi had been distributed mainly in and around Chittagong.
Although Azadi is known to be the only paper that was published on December 17, there have been disagreements regarding this record. The Daily Ittefaq, for example, has claimed they published a paper on that day as well.
“But they printed only in the afternoon, and we know this because their publication had information regarding a meeting that took place on that day,” Malek said, referring to a Nirikka magazine article, under the Press Information Department, which clarified this information.
When asked how they executed such a massive mission, Malek said he had a group of extremely efficient and eager workers.
“There were people who lived around, in the area, and they helped a lot. We didn’t even have to say anything. Everyone was so happy that they were all working, excited to get the paper out.”
Malek said the whole team readied the content for the one-page publication throughout night after independence was declared on December 16.
The independence day special was printed with the use of a heidelberg machine, which was not the regular medium of printing at that time.
“We used the machine for that day because it was faster, and allowed us to print a smaller paper – catering to that day’s demand."
Malek and his crew were unaware at that point that they had made history as the first newspaper that was published after Bangladesh gained independence. They learned only later of the significance that their one-page, red-inked publication has held for the history of Bangladesh.
The Dainik Azadi, which was born in Chittagong, has remained in the port-city since, and today has a circulation of 50-60,000. Malek’s father, who founded the paper, had started with the aim to distribute the paper only to citizens of Chittagong and around, and Malek has kept up with the mission for the past five decades.
“The demand for our paper is very high today, and it is the leading newspaper of Chittagong. We don’t want to become a national publication,” said Malek, reflecting both his father’s and his own ideals about the paper’s operation.
In fact, so strong is his dedication towards Chittagong – especially in regard to the paper – that Malek joked at the end of our conversation: “We often say it was Chittagong that actually accepted the independence of Bangladesh – Dhaka didn’t even believe in our independence; they didn’t have a publication about it!”