The Daily Ittefaq is a daily newspaper which is one of the most published and circulated newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 published from Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

. This newspaper printed in Bengali

Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

 by Ittefaq Group of Publications Limited. This newspaper played a very crucial role in the downfall of East Pakistan military during the Bangladesh Liberation War

Bangladesh Liberation War

The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....

 in 1971.

Colonial era

The Ittefaq was first published as a weekly paper on the 24 December 1953 by Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani and Yar Mohammad Khan who was its founder publisher and also the founder treasurer of Bangladesh Awami League. As both of them were occupied in active politics and anti Pakistan movement, they appointed Tofazzal Hossain as its editor. Tofazzal Hossain was working in Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

 as a journalist at the time.

In the colonial era it publicized the negligence and colonial mindset of Pakistan leaders to East Pakistan

East Pakistan

East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...

. As a result, the government acted against its editors and journalists. Tofazzal Hossain's post editorial column ‘Rajnaitik Mancha’ (political platform) earned great popularity in East Pakistan. Ittefaq had a significant role in the general elections of 1954, and it contributed to the victory of the United Front

United Front (East Pakistan)

The United Front was a coalition of mainly political parties from East Pakistan, organized and led by A. K. Fazlul Huq, Maulana Bhashani and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy of the Awami League. The coalition demanded greater provincial autonomy, the United Front had claimed during their 1954 election...

. In 1958 Tofazzal Hossain changed the name of the original founder and publisher and replaced it with his name. Ittefaq always strongly opposed all military rule of Pakistan starting from Ayub Khan to Yahya Khan

Yahya Khan

General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan Qizilbash, H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc was the third President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation of Ayub Khan...

.

The Ittefaq supported the Six Point Program of Awami League during the mid-1960s and played an important role to publish the idea into people. Quickly Ittefaq emerged as the voice of the East Pakistan citizens. President Ayub Khan censored

Censorship

thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...

 its publication from June 17 to July 11, 1966, and then again from July 17, 1966 to February 9, 1969. The editor Tofazzal Hossain, was imprisoned several times.

Hossain died on June 1, 1969, and the newspaper was managed by his two sons; Mainul Hosein

Mainul Hosein

Barrister Mainul Hosein was the chairman of the editorial board of the Daily Ittefaq, one of the oldest and previously the largest circulating daily Bengali news publication in Bangladesh...

 and Anwar Hossain

Anwar Hossain

Mohammad Anwar Hossain is a Bangladeshi cricketer who played in one Test and one ODI in 2002.-References:...

.

In Language Movement Era

During the Language Movement era, The Daily Ittefaq played a vital role.

In Liberation War

The Ittefaqs office was burnt down by the Pakistan army

Pakistan Army

The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...

 on 25 March 1971. Publication did not resume until 21 May 1971 under direct control of Pakistani officials.

Present

The Ittefaq was nationalized on 17 June 1975. Nurul Islam Patwary was made the chief editor and was published from New Nation Press at 1 Ramkrishna Mission Road, Dhaka. Ownership was returned to Manik Mia’s sons on 24 August 1975. Now Anwar Hossain is playing editor's Role.

This newspaper is featuring all the standard sections of a modern daily newspaper like political news, sports, education, entertainment, general & local news.

Online Edition

This newspaper provides its daily electronic edition on internet on its official website. This online edition is most widely accessed minute by minute by a large number of Bengali readers.

External links

• Official Website
• Official All Bangladeshi Newspaper Website
• http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/I_0125.htm