BANGLADESH

Building justice-based democratic society not possible in absence of debate – Hassan Mahmud

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud said it is not easy to build justice based democratic society in absence of debate.

“If society is to be formed based on justice, knowledge and reason, then debate has to prevail inside the society,” Hasan, also Joint General Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League, said.

The Minister said that Prime Minister Bangabandhu’s daughter Jannetri Sheikh Hasina wants to make a debate based state, justice and knowledge based society in the country.

Dr Hasan said this as chief guest at the award distribution ceremony of the first national undergraduate and postgraduate level television debate competition, organized by Bangladesh Television Chattogram Center, held at its studio on Friday.

Sohrab Hossain, Director General of Bangladesh Television, presided over the award distribution ceremony while Ekushey Padak winner journalist and Daily Azadi Editor MA Malek, former city Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, Divisional Commissioner Ashraf Uddin and Chattogram Metropolitan Police Commissioner Krishna Pada Roy, among others, addressed the function as special guests.

BTV Chattogram Center General Manager Mahfuza Akhter delivered the welcome speech in the function.

Dr Hasan said that the debate competition organized by Bangladesh Television will be very helpful in establishing debate and logic-based democratic society.

A total of 104 teams from all over the country participated in this competition.
Dr. Hasan Mahmud said that Bangladesh Television did not organize a debate competition for a long time.

“After the Prime Minister gave me the responsibility of the information and broadcasting ministry, I asked why the debate competition was stopped.

Then the officials of the television told me that the government is criticized a lot in the competition, that’s why it has been closed. I said, there must be criticism. The government must also be criticized in the society,” he added.

Saying that there cannot be a society without criticism, Dr Hasan said there must be criticism in society, there must be criticism of those in charge and hold responsibility.

“There has to be a debate, only then the society will move forward. Then I decided to organize debate competition in two centers of BTV,” he said.

The topic of today’s final round debate is `The role of educational institutions is more than the family in the formation of morality and ethics.

Thanking for choosing such a topic, the Information and Broadcasting Minister  said in fact ethics and integrity are very important in building a fair society and state.

`In a practical sense the whole world is becoming heavily mechanized. With the use of machines, people are becoming like machines. Morality and humanity are gradually disappearing from the society,’ he said.

He said, if human beings become like machines, morality and humanity are lost, then human beings will no longer exist.

`In this case, the role of both the family and the educational institution is very important, the role of no one is less than the other,’ the Minister said.

Congratulating the winning and runner-up teams, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said, “I myself  participated in debate competitions during my school and college life.”

The Minister handed over trophies and cheques to the winning team of Bangladesh Textile University and the runner-up team of Jahangirnagar University Bangmata Sheikh Fazilatunnessa Mujib Hall at the end of the ceremony.

Later, the Minister inaugurated the BTV Cafeteria after renovating it for the convenience of BTV Chattogram Center officers and employees, artists and workers.

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