He was by far the best among us; courageous, articulate, clear thinking, highly political and refreshingly

outspoken. His was a life totally dedicated to journalism. Unabashedly opinionated and unreservedly expressive about his views, he was an icon for us who took up journalism as a profession.

The passing away of Enayetullah Khan, lovingly called “Minto Bhai” by almost everybody who knew him, marks the demise of one of the most respected journalists in the country, a respect he earned by his total commitment to the profession and by his unrelenting fight for press freedom. Whatever his liking for any particular regime, and whosoever he wrote in favour of, on the issue of press freedom and against all forms of censorship he would never hesitate to raise his voice even if it meant hurting those he supported. During the height of his professional career, which extended over four decades, he exuded an unmatched charisma that made him such a unique personality in our profession. Always the centre of conversation, one had to listen to him intently even if one disagreed with him utterly. He never shied away from taking up strong political positions in his weekly column that endeared him to many and made many others his detractors. But he really did not care. He had things to say, which he said without hesitation or consideration as to who liked it or not.

He first distinguished himself as the young editor of weekly Holiday in the mid-sixties when, in his late twenties, he stunned his readers by his uncompromising and bold stand against the dictatorship of Pakistan's “Iron Man”, Gen. Ayub Khan. He joined our Liberation War and played a leading part, during the initial days of our freedom, in investigating the killings of intellectuals by Pakistani army and their local collaborators. Unfortunately his work remained unfinished.

After that we saw him constantly raising his voice against all forms of repressive measures during all the successive regimes in Bangladesh. Even from his sickbed in Ottawa, which tragically turned out to be the last few weeks of his life, he raised his voice against a new form of oppression and wrote some of his most powerful pieces against religious fundamentalism and terrorism.

His last significant contribution to English language journalism in Bangladesh is to give the nation a high quality English daily, New Age, which has already made its mark in the country.

On a personal level, I admired him greatly for his commitment to journalism. I briefly worked under his editorship in The Bangladesh Times in the midseventies. His editorial briefings were always precise, clear and to the point. I admired his knowledge of subjects and his ability to combine multiple ideas and weave them into a cohesive editorial. His editing skills were superb. He was always accessible, frank and direct. With his passing we lose a great leader of our profession, one to whom we could turn to when in need of guidance and moral support. Now that guiding light is gone.

May his soul rest in peace.