PIB marks Black Day for newspapers with exhibition on 1975 press censorship

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The Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) marked the “Black Day for Newspapers” on Monday with a special exhibition held at the Information Bhaban in Dhaka. Inaugurated by Information and Broadcasting Minister Zohir Uddin Swapan, the event serves as a historical record of the suppression of the press during the mid-1970s.

During the inauguration, Minister Swapan toured the exhibition, where he was briefed on the historical significance of the artifacts by PIB Director General Faruq Wasif. Addressing the legacy of the era, the minister remarked that the 1975 decision to shutter the majority of the nation’s newspapers, leaving only four in operation, proved to be a critical turning point that distanced the administration from the public. He noted that the exhibition serves as a vital educational resource for the younger generation to understand the consequences of silencing the media.

Faruq Wasif characterized the June 16, 1975, newspaper ordinance as the “original sin” against Bangladesh’s media landscape. He emphasized that the health of a multi-party democracy is fundamentally tied to the freedom of diverse media outlets, asserting that a vibrant democracy requires the protection of dissenting voices and varied viewpoints.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the PIB released a commemorative booklet titled “The Day Bangladesh Lost Its Sight and Its Voice.” Authored by Wasif, the publication explores the political climate that led to the closure of newspapers and the establishment of the BAKSAL system. The booklet further tracks the subsequent restoration of multi-party democracy, the advent of independent journalism, and the formal institutionalization of the press through the creation of the PIB, the National Press Club, and the Press Council of Bangladesh.