Alamgir Mohiuddin: The Fall of A Glittering Star in The Arena of Journalism

 

The demise of prominent journalist Alamgir Mohiuddin on 23 August 2025 at the age of 85 has left Bangladesh’ s media society profoundly aggrieved. He was not just a journalist but a bystander to history, a legendary figure of journalistic morals, and a guide who enthused generations. His colorful life and works illumine the pathway of professional journalism in Bangladesh. To evaluate his heritage appropriately, one must eye his own expedition, professional attainments, knowledgeable roles, and the historic background in which he functioned. Born in Natore in 1940, Alamgir Mohiuddin’ s childhood was designed by the socio-political variations of the subcontinent. He studied at Nazim Uddin High School in Chanchkoir prior to join Rajshahi College. His craving for literature and ideas originated mien at Rajshahi University, where he graduated with a bachelor degree in English. This academic foundation offered him not only philological genius but also critical profundity. English literature enlarged his worldview and delivered stuffs of serious discerning that would subsequently form his journalism. His initial revelation to deliberations on politics and culture inculcated in him a inquisitiveness that initiated its usual countenance in reporting and editorial writing.

Mohiuddin’ s professional journey began at a time when Bangladesh was in its inception. As a senior reporter of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), he made a debut in journalism when truth-telling was both a professional duty and a patriotic act. His pledge to precision and intrepid reporting hurriedly made him veneration. He extended his involvement by being employed in The Daily Observer, The New Nation, The Dawn, and even the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) in pre-independence days. These roles presented him with global experience and an acclamation for both international standards and domestic authenticities. He learned to steer censorship, political illegitimate pressures, and moral predicament-skills that would assist throughout his occupation. In 2004, Alamgir Mohiuddin became the Founding Editor of a vernacular Bengali Daily called Naya Diganta. This was the crossroads that defined his public reputation. Under his prudent guidance, the newspaper appeared as a sturdy voice in the country' s press, speaking political issues, social discriminations, and cultural arguments with brashness. For more than two decades, he navigated the paper with vision and resilience. His editorials often challenged the powerful and advocated accountability. Even critics admitted that his writing demonstrated academic intelligibility and valor. As an editor, he cultivated a new generation of reporters, offering them opportunity to rise and implanting in them a sense of journalistic responsibility. The colorful life of Alamgir Mohiuddin does not lie in ostentation but in his assortment of experience, his intellectual affluence, and his bounciness regardless of hardship. We find several key facets in him which have made his life chequered as well as flamboyant in the truest sense of the term. He wrote across genres: news reports, features, fact-finding pieces, and editorials.

His writing combined literary grace with shrill analysis. As an editor, he well-adjusted editorial impartiality with official duties, defending his newsroom from external intervention. Many young journalists recollect his guidance, discipline, and perseverance on principled journalism. His newsroom was a teaching center for future leaders of the media. Furthermore, he was a cultural analyst and a promoter for democratic ethics, by means of the newspaper as a medium for public debate. Alamgir Mohiuddin was not only an employed journalist but also an adroit organizer. He served on the Board of Directors of BSS, contributing to reinforcement of the national news agency. As a founding member of the Editors’ council, he crusaded for freedom of the press and safeguarded editorial rights at a time when journalism frequently confronted state undue pressure and restriction. Such roles focus his two-fold contribution: he was not merely an author of news but also a creator of institutions that last to sustain journalism in our country. His later years were manifested by health hitches. Since May 2025, he underwent imbalances of sodium, magnesium, calcium, and potassium, in consort with breathing and blood pressure problems. In spite of being physical weakness, his rational rendezvous was certainly not bleached. The death of his wife four years back had been a personal setback. He is survived by two daughters who carry out his principles of integrity and bravery.

His funeral at the Rayer Bazar Martyred Intellectuals’ Graveyard implies the national appreciation of his contributions to Bangladesh’s intellectual and journalistic legacy. Widespread Compliments poured in following his death. Information and Broadcasting Adviser Mahfuj Alam expressed deep shock and respect for his lifetime dedication. The Editors’ Council bewailed the demise of a founder and a guardian of the press values. Journalists across the country remembered him as a valiant editor who did not ever compromise with truth. Different Political parties also expressed deep shock at the demise of prominent journalist Alamgir Mohiuddin. Coworkers dubbed him as honest, principled, and inspiring. His funeral prayers were joined by journalists, politicians, and citizens- signifying his inclusive impacts. A critical viewpoint on Alamgir Mohiuddin’s life divulges three dimensions of his legacy. First, he owned the rare group of journalists who worked across three diverse times: pre-independence media, post-independence reconstruction, and the digital era. Limited journalists observed such changes personally whereas enduring unswervingly pertinent. Secondly, in an age while commercialization regularly attenuates journalistic integrity, his career sets as a paradigm of ethical journalism. He disallowed exaggeration and stayed steadfast to truth and equilibrium. Third, through his dynamic leadership of Naya Diganta, his great role in BSS, and his active involvement with the Editors’ Council, he reinforced both institutions and individuals. He coordinated professional excellence with organizational duty-talents intermittent in any profession.

The vibrant life and works of Alamgir Mohiuddin replicate the tale of journalism itself in the country- its fights, conquests, and ambitions. He was not merely a reporter of events but a maker of stories, a guide of young talent, and a protector of the press freedom. His death makes an irreparable loss that will be hard to fill. But his legacy continues. For young journalists, his life is an aide-memoire that journalism is not a mere profession but public trust. Intended for the people, it is encouragement that truth-tellers persist in times of ambiguity. As the country’s media combats newfangled encounters in the digital era, Alamgir Mohiuddin’ s colorful life stances as a bonfire: truthfulness, valor, and intellectual wisdom on no occasion fail their significance. His name contributed journalism to its pride as well as a true way.


Sabbir Uddin Ahmed is an educationist
and a researcher.