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Nabajug one-page evening daily published from Kolkata. Launched on 12 July 1920 from 6 Turn Street, Kolkata, it was a liberal, secular and mass-oriented newspaper. Its price was one paisa. Its owner-cum-director was ak fazlul huq (Sher-e-Bangla). kazi nazrul islam and comrade muzaffar ahmed were the editors. The name of the director was inscribed in the newspaper, but not that of the editors.
AK Fazlul Huq planned to publish a newspaper in support of his krishak
praja party. Nazrul Islam, Muzaffar Ahmed and some like-minded persons were contemplating of publishing a paper to mobilise protest against British imperialism. Accordingly, three to four meetings were arranged at the residence of Fazlul Huq. The outcome was a paper eventually named Nabajug by Nazrul Islam. Nazrul Islam's fiery, anti-British editorials animated all classes of people, regardless of caste and creed. His editorials combined poetry and journalism and rendered the paper so popular that occasionally it was printed twice a day. Nabajug incurred the wrath of the government by speaking of freedom and public awakening. It was warned by the government twice or thrice. When these warnings seemed to have no effect, it was banned, and its security money of Rs 1000 forfeited. A deposit of Rs 2000 as security money helped restart the paper. However, a dispute arose between Fazlul Huq and the editors. Nazrul Islam and Muzaffar Ahmed resigned, and the newspaper was closed down again. In 1942 Nabajug was again published under the initiative of Fazlul Huq, then Chief Minister of Bengal. Nazrul Islam assumed the role of editor. When the poet fell ill, Maulana Ahmed Ali of Khulna took over as editor. Nabajug continued to be published for two years and then ceased publication for good. Nazrul's book Jugabani (1922) is a compilation of some of his editorials and essays published in Nabajug. This book too was proscribed for some time. [Ali Nawaz]
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