Serajuddin Hossain

Serajuddin Hossain (1 March 1929 – 10 December 1971) was a prominent Bangladeshi journalist.

He was the news and executive editor of The Daily Ittefaq.

He was captured from his residence by the Pakistan army with the help of Al-Badr and Razakar.

He was not only a prominent journalist, but was also considered to be a good writer and translator.

He was very close to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

He was the first to introduce investigative reporting into Bangla newspaper.

He passed the matriculation examination from Jhikor Gacha High School in 1943, and received his I.A. from Jessore Madhusudan College in 1947, and received his B.A. from Kolkata's Islamia College (now Maulana Azad College).

In 1949, Hossain married Nurjahan Begum, the sister of his college friend Shamsuddin Molla, who was to become a politician.

Hossain and Nurjahan Siraji had eight sons: Shameem Reza Noor, Shaheen Reza Noor, Fahim Reza Noor, Nasim Reza Noor, Saleem Reza Noor, Shaheed Reza Noor, Zaheed Reza Noor and Tawheed Reza Noor.

When he was a B.A. student, he became an apprentice journalist at the Daily Azad, a Bengali newspaper published from Kolkata.

After a short time, he was promoted to sub-editor.

When the Daily Azad moved from Kolkata to Dhaka, he was appointed as the assistant news editor and eventually was promoted to be a news editor.

As a news editor of Daily Azad, he played a large role in the Language Movement of Bangladesh.

In 1954, during a provincial election, Serajuddin Hossain supported the Jukto Front (United Front).

As editor of the Daily Azad, Moulana Akram Khan, asked him to publish a report which would disclose that the bond between the leaders and parties of the Jukto Front had broken.

A press release from Jukto Front said that the Jukto Front still existed.

As an honest journalist, Serajuddin Hossain published a report which was based on Jukto Front's press release.

The very next day Moulana Akraham Khan sacked him.

After that time, he worked as a junior editor of Franklin Publications.

On 14 December 1954, he was hired as a news editor of the Daily Ittefaq.

Serajuddin Hossain was a political journalist, but his work also spread over a number of other subjects.

One of the subjects was investigative journalism.

His brave work helped to save many kidnapped children, giving him worldwide recognition.

During the 1960s, several children were being kidnapped.

Serajuddin Hossain wanted to establish the fact that it was an organised crime, a single group of many criminals.

Through his efforts, 72 children were saved.

For that achievement he was nominated as the Best Journalist of International Press Institute.

Hossain was a trade unionist as well, and was elected as the president of the East Pakistan Journalism Union for two terms.

Hossain agreed with Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's political point of view.

He was a theoretician of the Bengali Nationalist Movement.

During the 1971 liberation war, the country was occupied by the Pakistani army.

During this time, Serajuddin Hossain wrote in the newspaper on behalf of the liberation war, and secretly helped the freedom fighters.

Serajuddin Hossain was born in the village Sharushuna, in the district Magura.

His father was Maulana Mazharul Haque and his mother was Ashrafunnessa.

He was third of four siblings.

His elder sister was Anowara Begum, and his elder brother Sharafuddin Hossain.

His younger sister, was Lutfunnessa.

Serajuddin Hossain lost his father when he was three years old.

After his father died, the family moved to Jessore City to the home of his uncle, who was the headmaster of Jessore Zilla School.

Serajuddin and his brother started studying in this school.