STAFF CORRESPONDENT
As guests walked into The Daily Star premises to mark its 35th anniversary, they were not met with glossy interiors or a polished lobby.
Instead, they encountered the first two floors laid bare like a wound -- hollowed-out and fire-scarred from the night of December 18, 2025.
Spotlights lit up charred walls and peeling paint, while footfalls stirred soot from broken tiles, making the air hang heavy. Piles of burnt newspapers and shattered glass lined the walkways, and the summer heat made the scorched woodwork swelter.
On the first day of the two-day event yesterday, what was on display was not an aestheticised, carefully curated exhibit, but a raw, unflinching look at the heinous attack, which around 30 staffers of the newspaper survived.
However, after a day’s gap, the newspaper was published with a single-word headline, “Unbowed”.
As The Daily Star marked its three and a half decades, the ceremony served as a stark reminder that mobs could burn a building, but not its guiding principle of journalism without fear or favour.
Even when faced with the fear of death, its journalists upheld the newspaper’s motto -- “Your right to know”.
The programme began with the national anthem, followed by a one-minute silence observed in memory of the 13th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War, the 1990 anti-autocracy movement, and the 2024 July Uprising.
“When a free press is set ablaze, democracy burns with it,” said Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of the newspaper, adding that democracy falters when presses are silenced.
He reminded the audience that the newspaper, founded on January 14, 1991, was born during the fall of General HM Ershad’s autocracy. “Our journey began alongside the rebirth of democracy.
“As a front-row witness for 35 years, I have seen where we excelled and where we faltered. Our greatest failure has been the inability to institutionalise democracy.”
He said the February 12 election and the newly elected parliament mark a renewal of the pledge to democracy, and reminded the audience that this government is not “business as usual” because it emerged through the July uprising.
“As a non-partisan paper, we speak not of a partisan victory, but of an elected government that must reflect the dreams of its people,” said Anam, adding, “You [the newly-elected government] are the product of a revolution led by students -- the July uprising. This signifies something profound. Do not underestimate the dreams of that revolution; it is a perspective that must guide your path.”
The newspaper’s editor added, “I would like to tell my fellow journalists that your job is not to serve your owner. Your job is to Hundreds Other political personalities included Maulana Ahmad Abdul Qayyum, assistant secretary general of Islami Andolon Bangladesh; Maulana KM Shariatullah, chief coordinator of its Central Media Cell; Maimun Islam Mithun, publicity secretary of Islami Chhatra Andolon; Advocate Monir Hossain of the Central Media Cell; and Ahmad Abdul Kader, secretary general of Khelafat Majlis.
Business leaders who attended the programme included Kamran T Rahman, president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka; Naser Ezaz Bijoy, CEO of Standard Chartered Bangladesh; Syed Mahbubur Rahman, MD and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank; Rupali Haque Chowdhury, managing director of Berger Paints Bangladesh; Abdul Hai Sarker, chairman of Dhaka Bank; Syed Nasim Manzur, managing director of Apex Footwear; Mohammad Ali, managing director and CEO of Pubali Bank; Showkat Aziz Russell, president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association; and Tapan Chowdhury, managing director of Square Group.
The chiefs of law enforcement agencies at the event included DMP acting commissioner Md Sarwar; RAB Director General Ahsan Habib Palash; CID Chief Mosleh Uddin; DB Chief Shafiqul Islam; and DC (Tejgaon Division) of DMP Ibne Mizan.
Tamim Iqbal, president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board; and Tabith Awal, president of the Bangladesh Football Federation, also attended the programme, along with Shahnaz Rahman, chairperson of Transcom Group and its CEO Simeen Rahman.
Eminent personalities from the diplomatic circuit included Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam; EU Ambassador Michael Miller; Japanese Ambassador SAIDA Shinichi; UK High Commissioner Sarah Cooke; Canadian High Commissioner Ajith Singh; Italian Ambassador Antonio Alessandro; German Ambassador Dr Rudiger Lotz; Swiss Ambassador Reto Renggli; Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma; Swedish Ambassador Nicolas Weeks; Norwegian Ambassador Håkon Arald Gulbrandsen; Danish Ambassador Christian Brix Møller; Argentine Ambassador Marcelo Carlos Cesa; Turkish Ambassador Ramis Şen; Thai Ambassador Thitiporn Chirasawadi; Maldivian Ambassador Shiuneen Rasheed; Indonesian Ambassador Listyowati; Singapore High Commission’s Chargé d’Affaires Mitchel Lee; and Counselor for Public Affairs at the US Embassy Monica Shie.
Besides, UN Resident Coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak; UNESCO Country Representative Dr Susa Vize; International Fund for Agricultural Development Country Director Dr Valentine Achancho; and UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Sonali Dayaratne, along with UN Women representatives, also attended the programme.
Top journalists present included Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman; Channel i Managing Director Faridur Reza Sagar and its Director and Head of News Shykh Seraj; Kaler Kantho Editor and Jatiya Press Club President Hasan Hafiz; Dhaka Tribune Editor Reaz Ahmad; Bdnews24.com Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Toufique Imrose Khalidi; The Financial Express Editor Shamsul Huq Zahid; Editor and Publisher of Counterpoint Zafar Sobhan; Jatiya Press Club General Secretary Ayub Bhuiyan; and television talk show host and executive director of the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) Zillur Rahman.
The second day of the event, to be held today, will feature similar programmes with guests from several different fields and organisations.
RAHIMA KHATUN (Social Cause/ Healthcare)
Rahima Khatun’s journey is not only one of service, but also of quiet resilience shaped by deep personal hardship. Early in her life, her mother-in-law cast her out, leaving her to struggle for survival and dignity at a time when support systems for women were scarce. Rather than breaking her, this experience strengthened her empathy for others, especially vulnerable women facing rejection, poverty, or neglect. Over more than three decades as a grassroots health worker
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