The Azizan Nehar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Weekly newspaper
| Type | Monthly newspaper Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Editor | Mir Mosharraf Hossain |
| Founded | April 14, 1874 |
| Language | Bengali |
| City | Kushtia |
| Country |  British India |
The Azizan Nehar[1] (Bengali: আজীজন নেহার) was a newspaper edited by Mir Mosharraf Hossain.[2] It was first published in 1874.[3] It was the first Bengali-language newspaper edited by a Shia Muslim individual.[4]
Mir Mosharraf Hossain’s first wife was Azizan Nesa. Later, in 1873, he married a woman named Kulsum. Shortly after the marriage, in 1874, he published the newspaper Azizan Nehar, named after his first wife. Many criticized this choice of name.[5] For example:
Why would Mir edit and publish a newspaper in the name of that wife? As already mentioned, Mir married Bibi Kulsum in the month of Magh, 1280 (Bengali calendar), and Azizan Nehar was first published in the month of Baishakh, 1281. Munir Chowdhury naturally assumed that behind this publication was ‘years of speculation’ and a passionate ‘heart of a husband’ at work. But that may not be entirely true. If it were truly the ‘husband’s heart’ that motivated this publication, then the marriage with Bibi Kulsum would not have taken place so long afterward. A particularly noteworthy point is that within a few months of marrying Kulsum, he published the newspaper in the name of his first with Mir’s half-brother Mir Saheb Ali and the bandit Nuruddin to eliminate Kulsum. There is no doubt that she was deeply hurt and bitter about Mir’s second marriage (and possibly expressed it as well). So, was the hurried editing and publication of this newspaper merely a way to bribe or appease the first wife? It is not impossible.
— Shantanu Kaiser, Tritiyo Mir, [6]
