17 years of 'journalism without fear or favour'

Beginning in 1991 with our “Commitment to People's Right to Know” we have completed nearly two decades of journalism serving our readers with dedication, sincerity and commitment to public interest. During this period the country witnessed many upheavals, some natural and quite a few man made. Throughout it all we stood by our readers giving them the most authentic and timely reports, features, articles and editorials to enable them to form informed opinions. In addition we have tried to provide a variety of supplementary publications, four weeklies, one fortnightly and one monthly, to meet their rising expectations.
We have, through our journalism, tried to strengthen democracy and all the institutions that give it a strong foundation. We fought for press freedom, human rights, minority rights and all the fundamental freedoms for the betterment of our people. We steadfastly struggled against all forms of corruption and mis-governance for economic development and to provide a level playing field to our innovative entrepreneurs.
In celebrating our 17th anniversary we have prepared a 164-page supplement which will be distributed in three separate sections today (16th), tomorrow (17th) and the day after (18th). The supplement is focused on the theme “For a Democratic and Middle-Income Bangladesh”. The three separate sections, named differently, are:
1. Strengthening our democratic foundations; 2) Towards a Middle-Income Bangladesh; and finally 3) Tasks Ahead. In the last section we identify six tasks that need to be addressed immediately for Bangladesh to realise her potential. These tasks are:
a) Preparing for Climate Change; b) Enacting Right to Information Act; c) Combating Corruption; d) Investing for E-Governance; f) Implementing separation of Judiciary; g) Fighting Terrorism; and h) Establishing a Knowledge-based Society.
We express our appreciation to all the contributors for helping us to present our readers with such a well researched, fact based and visionary supplement.
On this occasion of our 17th Anniversary we express our heartfelt thanks to our patrons, advertisers, contributors and well-wishers. However the biggest debt of gratitude we owe is to our readers, who through their constant and enthusiastic support have made us the highest circulation and most trusted English language daily in the country. Please accept our sincerest thanks and gratitude. We promise to continue our “Journalism without Fear or Favour” and pledge to serve our readers with an expanded and improved paper in 2008.