Forum (Bangladesh magazine)

Founders and editorial stance

Forum was launched by human-rights advocate Hameeda Hossain and economist Rehman Sobhan. Hossain’s background in human rights advocacy and Sobhan’s standing as an economist shaped the magazine’s focus on civil liberties, accountability and economic policy. The publication promoted democracy, institutional reform and a more equitable development agenda while offering rigorous criticism of the West Pakistani political establishment of the time.

Suppression during 1971

Forum’s independent and oppositional voice brought it into conflict with central authorities. In the early hours of 26 March 1971, during the Pakistan Army’s crackdown known as Operation Searchlight, the Pakistan Army shut down the magazine as part of a wider campaign to silence dissenting media and civil society. The closure occurred against the backdrop of escalating political conflict that culminated in the war of independence for Bangladesh.

Revival and later years (2006–2013)

After decades of absence in the print landscape, Forum was revived in 2006 when The Daily Star began republishing it as a monthly. The relaunched title aimed to reconnect readers with in-depth analysis of national and regional issues and to continue the original mission of informed debate. During this period the magazine sought to bridge historical memory and contemporary policy discussions.

Editorial board and staff

The revival brought together original founders Hameeda Hossain and Rehman Sobhan with prominent contemporary editors and scholars. The editorial board included Mahfuz Anam of The Daily Star, Matiur Rahman of Prothom Alo and the academic Anisuzzaman, who taught at the University of Dhaka. Shah Hussain Imam served as executive editor for the relaunched Forum. This mix of journalists, academics and activists reflected the publication’s ambition to combine scholarship with journalism.

Content, contributors and reach

Across both its original and revived runs, Forum published essays, investigative pieces, reviews and commentary from contributors across South Asia and beyond. Notable contributors included Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, journalist Kuldip Nayar, as well as commentators such as Tariq Ali and Ahmed Rashid. The magazine became a forum for debate on democracy, development, human rights and regional security.

Reception, legacy and archives

Forum’s revived run concluded with its final issue in April 2013. Although it ceased publication, the magazine is remembered in Bangladesh’s journalistic and academic circles as an influential English-language periodical that linked normative concerns about rights and democracy with substantive policy discussion. Scholars and journalists continue to cite its essays when examining press freedom, intellectual life and the role of periodicals in political movements. Archival copies and selected reprints have been referenced in academic work, institutional histories and retrospectives on media during the independence period and afterward.

Selected contributors (illustrative)

• Amartya Sen — economist and public intellectual
• Tariq Ali — writer and political commentator
• Kuldip Nayar — columnist and journalist
• Ahmed Rashid — author and analyst on regional security

For readers interested in primary sources and further reading, contemporary newspaper accounts, collected essays and institutional archives provide additional context on Forum’s role in Bangladesh’s media history and on the broader debates that shaped South Asian politics in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.