Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Secretary Mahbuba Farjana spoke today at a documentary screening and discussion at the NIMCO auditorium in the capital. Photo: PID

DHAKA, Aug 03, 2025 (BSS) - Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Secretary Mahbuba Farjana today said the courage and strength of the July Uprising must be utilized to build a fascism-free Bangladesh.

“For this, all concerned irrespective from their positions must perform their duties with honesty, efficiency and impartiality,” she said while addressing a documentary screening and discussion at the National Institute of Mass-communication (NIMCO) auditorium in the capital marking the anniversary of July Uprising, said an official handout.

Paying rich tribute to the martyrs of July Uprising, Farjana said, the students and people have made sacrifices to establish a merit-based and non-discriminatory state system. 

“We must pay deep respect to the ultimate sacrifice of the martyrs and the suffering of the injured. We must think about how the injured will be treated, how the families of the martyrs and the injured will be rehabilitated. It is time for us to be accountable to the families of the martyrs and the injured,” she said.

Criticizing the 15-year rule of the previous government, she said, “At that time, so-called democracy prevailed in the country, but we lost freedom of speech. The young people could not speak the truth.” 

Highlighting the unprofessional role of the law enforcement agencies in the July uprising, she said they killed unarmed students and people unlawfully.

Mahbuba Farjana said that all concerned must work to ensure freedom of mass media and accountable behavior of the administration.

She urged all concerned to work unitedly to build a beautiful country free from fascism.

Department of Mass Communication Director General (DG) Faizul Haque, Bangladesh Betar (DG) ASM Zahid, and Department of Film and Publication DG Khaleda Begum, among others, addressed the discussion with NIMCO DG Muhammad Hiruzzaman in the chair.

A documentary on the July Uprising was screened before the discussion. At the end of the programme, prayers were offered for eternal peace of the departed souls of the martyrs of July Uprising and the recovery of the injured.