Meril Awards: Discrimination Versus Democratic Values

 
Meril-Prothom Alo Awards Ceremony is held every year in which celebrities like actors, actresses, singers, dancers, directors, models etcetera are conferred prizes for their outstanding performances in their respective realms. However, very few people are aware of the fact that weekly Bengali magazine Jai Jai Din for the first time introduced this event back in 1993. Jai Jai Din Magazine Editor and veteran journalist Shafik Rehman launched this ceremony. Shafik Rehman's 91st birthday was celebrated yesterday, 11 November 2025. The Asian Age family offers best wishes and heartfelt felicitations to evergreen lighthouse Shafik Rehman on this occasion for  his long, healthy and successful life.

Shafik Rehman enriched and decorated the artistic and cultural terrains of Bangladesh in various ways. He introduced Valentine's Day in 1993 and thus bridged up the progressive western cultural practices with the youngsters across Bangladesh. Shafik Rehman intended to spread out the message that love can win all odds. I was one of the members in Shafik Rehman's team to campaign the magnificence of Valentine's Day. Our country's cultural embellishment came about holding iconic journalist and author Shafik Rehman's hands for the most part following 1990s but Shafik Rehman fell a victim to unjustifiable political vengeance several years ago and he had to leave Bangladesh. However, the country's young generation was delighted and uplifted when he came back in 2024 in the wake of the downfall of the immediate past regime in August last year.

We can still recollect with widespread appreciation and vibrancy the amazing characters Moin and Mila in Jai Jai Din magazine. Shafik Rehman's column Diner Por Din attracted countless numbers of readers including youths during those years. Nobody dared to speak or write against military dictator HM Ershad at that time except Shafik Rehman. He wrote an allegoric article headlined "Sangsader Shova Trish Set Olonkar" (Parliament's Glamour With Thirty Sets of Ornaments) which was a derogatory write-up mocking at thirty women parliamentarians selected by HM Ershad from his own personal choices. This particular edition of Jai Jai Din magazine crossed a million in publications. Following the exposure of this article on HM Ershad, Shafik Rehman was forced to move out of Bangladesh. Shafik Rehman was a prominent journalist who launched Spectrum Radio in the United Kingdom. His another qualification is he is an erudite chartered accountant. Shafik Rehman jointly operated a company called RRH with former Finance Minister Saifur Rahman.

It should be recalled that David Nathan Merrill was US Ambassador to Bangladesh in 1993 when the Jai Jai Din Meril Award Ceremony was held. Shafik Rehman humorously said on television screen during the event that the name of the award ceremony and the US Ambassador's name matched coincidentally. Jai Jai Din was an enormously popular Bengali magazine for decades passing through the 1990s and even beyond. The Jai Jai Din-Meril Award Ceremony was styled like the presentation of the Academy Awards in Hollywood.

Square Pharmaceuticals produced Meril Talcum Powder and some other cosmetics with the Meril brand name. Matiur Rahman, who was back then Editor, Bhorer Kagoj, attended the Jai Jai Din-Meril Award Ceremony anchored by Shafik Rehman. It's a matter of deep regret that Prothom Alo-Meril Award Ceremony has been being held for many years till today but the organizers of the program do not recall or recognize Shafik Rehman's founding role and contribution behind the birth of this mega cultural show.

Shafik Rehman has worked tirelessly throughout his professional career to illuminate the youths of Bangladesh by affiliating them with the cultural resources and creative fields of the country. His father Principal Syedur Rahman was a towering educationist and he is still called the Socrates of Bangladesh. Shafik Rehman has radiantly upheld his father's fame and glory.

Shafik Rehman hosted a highly admirable television program called "Lal Golap" (Red Rose). It was shown on BTV and later on it was transmitted by Bangla Vision for some years. Lal Golap was a multidimensional television program featuring local and international cultural proceedings, entertainment, interviews etcetera.

I attended an international conference on press freedom in Vienna, Austria in October this year in which globally reputed media professionals and entrepreneurs participated. I met a lot of vital dignitaries in this conference including Nobel Prize winner American economist Joseph Stiglitz.

Press freedom is indispensable for good governance, socioeconomic justice and equal rights in all countries including Bangladesh. The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam asserted a few days ago that attacks on media workers have escalated far more than previous years. Lack of reciprocal honour, mounting bigotry and glaring prevalence of poor democratic values are responsible for the hazardous and challenging scenario journalists are facing these days.

Women empowerment, communal harmony, human rights, rule of law are essential to sustain peace, development, self-sufficiency and stability. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has unveiled a list of their party candidates for the next national elections. BNP announced 237 nominees' names among which there are only 9 (nine) women candidates which surprises and shocks all conscious citizens. It may be recalled that Bangladesh's first lady Prime Minister was BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. At least 30 to 40 percent representatives from women and minorities must be available in Parliament for smooth socioeconomic advancement, integrity and all out prosperity. Discrimination and democracy cannot move forward at a time. For this reason all forms of discrepancies need to be eliminated for an egalitarian, prosperous and peaceful Bangladesh in days to come.

Shafik Rehman's wife Taleya Rehman worked for BBC in London with utmost professionalism, enlightenment and eminence. Taleya Rehman had profound influence on the accomplishments that Shafik Rehman achieved. Shafik Rehman introduced exchanging chocolates and flowers as gifts marking Valentine's Day while Taleya Rehman launched perfumed Love Cushions which generated a massive buzz among the young generation at that time. Shafik Rehman's father Principal Syedur Rahman was Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's favourite teacher but the immediate past government paid no tributes at all to Syedur Rahman. Rather Shafik Rehman was subjected to persecution and torment during the overthrown ruling party's regime.

Taleya Rehman was associated with the Language Movement in 1952 but none of the ruling parties in Bangladesh's history accorded her any kind of recognition or awards like Ekushey Padak or any other prize since the birth of Bangladesh. We hope the new government which will be constituted through the forthcoming elections will properly value the contributions of the trio gems-Syedur Rahman, Shafik Rehman and Taleya Rehman. In this way the intellectual society in Bangladesh will gain redemption and many more young people will follow their examples to pick up creative works as occupations and passionate attachments.