Page 434 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

PHOTOGRAPHY 431

3.4 Photojournalism
Pakistan gained freedom from the British in 1947. Dhaka became the capital of the new
province, Purba Banga (East Pakistan) of the new state. Newspapers began to be
published from Dhaka and other regions, with governmental and non-governmental
initiatives. In the Information and Public Communication Department of the
Government, measures were taken for photography to be used in publicising services
provided by government employees and organizations. Only the photographs of
governmental conventions were published in the newspapers Mahenao, Pak Samachar,
Pakistani Khabar and Pak Jamahuriat. In the beginning of the 50s various privately
owned newspapers such as Azad, Sangbad, Pakistan Observer, Chitrali etc- published
photographs along with political, social and cultural news, events, accidents, floods and
storms. The photographs of the Language Movement in 1952 were published in several
newspapers including Azad. The photographs of the election in 1954 and the floods of
1954, 1955 and 1956 were published in numerous newspapers. Obaidur Rahman Firoz
joined Pakistan Observer as staff photographer in 1955. This is the first employment
of a staff photographer in a newspaper in this country.
Before that, as early as the beginning of the 50s, Mahbub Ali Moti (Orient Studio),
Md. Yakub (P.I.D.), S.R. Nabi and others supplied various newspapers with
photographs as freelance photographers. Since 1962, when Pakistan Observer began
to be printed in offset, photographs began to be published attractively and with
importance. Newspapers like Azad, Sangbad, Ittefaq, Morning News etc. began to
publish photographs with importance as well. In 1965, Observer published color
photographs for the first time in the history of this country.
Publication of photographs of political gatherings and student agitation in 1962; of
havoc caused by floods and storms; mass movements during 1968 to 1971; tidal bore
in 1970 and movement for self-rule added a new dimension to newspapers. The
military Government exerted strict regulations before the beginning of the Liberation
War in 1971. Even amidst this hostile situation, the newspapers maintained a steady
flow of photographs of events of those times; such as the ongoing mass uprisal, non-
cooperation movement, Bangabandhu’s (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) speech on 7
March, the military brutality and resistance of the people.
Photographers like Yakub Ahmed, Mizanur Rahman, Obaidur Rahman Firoz,
Mozammil Hossain, Shamsul Huda, Mosharraf Hossain, Golam Mowla, Aftab
Ahmed, Muhammad Kamruzzaman, Rashid Talukder, Manzur Alam Choudhury,
Moazzem Hossain Bulu, Monwar Ahmed, Umesh Barua, Manu Munshi, Mohammad
Alam, Zahirul Haque and others deserve special mention for taking news photos
during 1950 to 1970.
3.5 Mainstream Photography before Partition
The Language Movement and Mass Movement
The seeds of the Language Movement were sown in 1948 and it reached the final stage
on 21 February 1952, through the sacrifice of lives of students and general people
under police firing. All the events, information and evidence related to the movement