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Shahidul Alam

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For other people with similar names, see Shahidul Alam (disambiguation).

Shahidul Alam
শহিদুল আলম
Shahidul Alam in 2024
Born1955 (age 68–69)
Dacca, Pakistan
NationalityBangladeshi
EducationJhenidah Cadet College, University of Liverpool
Alma materUniversity of Liverpool (BSc)
Bedford College, University of London (D.Phil)
Occupation(s)Photojournalism, teaching, social rights activism
Known for
SpouseRahnuma Ahmed
FatherKazi Abul Monsur
RelativesKazi Salahuddin (cousin)
Nassakh
Nawab Abdul Latif
Shahidul Alam' voice
Recorded January 2023

Shahidul Alam (born 1955) is a Bangladeshi media institution builder, a photojournalist, public speaker, storyteller, writer, blogger, curator, and educationist.

Alam founded Drik Picture Library in 1989, Pathshala in 1998, Chobi Mela in 1999, and Majority World in 2004.[1]

Drik's work as an internet provider introduced email to Bangladesh in the early 90s. Drik developed a Bangla font for the internet, Bangladesh's first webzine and first portal.

Alam's books include Nature's Fury (2007) and My Journey as a Witness (2011).

A photographer for over forty years, his work has been featured in leading publications across the globe and exhibited in MOMA, Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, the Royal Albert Hall, and Kuala Lumpur National Art Gallery. He was the first Asian Chair of the International Jury of World Press Photo.[2] Alam has spoken at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and Stanford universities.

Alam was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2001.[3] In 2014, he was awarded the Shilpakala Padak by the President of Bangladesh and in 2018 the Humanitarian Award from the Lucie Awards. He was a Time magazine persons of the year in 2018. He was the CASE Humanitarian of the Year in 2021. He is an Advisory Board Member of National Geographic Society and a National Geographic Explorer at Large. In 2022, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Arts in London, which he returned in 2024 because of the university's complicity in Israel's occupation of Palestine.[4][5]

Early life and education

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Kazi Shahidul Alam was born in Dacca, East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1955 and grew up at Dhanmondi. He was one of the three children of physician Kazi Abul Monsur and child psychologist Anwara Monsur. He belongs to the Kazi family of Rajapur in Faridpur district. This family was founded by Kazi Abdur Rasool, son of Shah Azimuddin, who was said to have been descended from the Arab Muslim general Khalid ibn al-Walid and have been appointed as Kazi in Mughal Bengal.[6][7]

In his childhood, he used to float through Dhaka's congested arteries atop his slight fold-up bicycle.[8] He studied at the boarding school Jhenidah Cadet College.

Alam took his undergraduate education in the University of Liverpool. During his time in Liverpool, he made a habit of walking in the streets in his lungi, a traditional South Asian garment. In his college year, he was introduced to activism through his involvement with the Socialist Workers Party.[8] He graduated from the university in 1976 by earning his BSc in biochemistry and genetics.[9]

Alam relocated to London for his Doctor of Philosophy study at Bedford College, University of London. Alam started to take an interest in photography during his time in London. At Bedford, he also worked as a research chemist to invent alternative printing processes for photographs.[10] In 1983, he won the Harvey Harris Trophy from London Arts Council for a photograph that he took. This boosted his confidence in pursuing a career in photography.[9][8] In the same year, he received his DPhil in organic chemistry.[11]

Career

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Alam with the winners of the 2013 BOBs awards.

In 1989, he set up Drik Picture Library and in 1998, Pathshala South Asian Institute of Photography (later Pathshala South Asian Media Institute), in Dhaka.[12][13] Pathshala "has trained hundreds of photographers".[14][13] Alam founded the Chobi Mela International Photography Festival in 1999, the most important and prestigious photography festival in Asia, of which he remains a director.[13][15] Alam set up the South Asian Media Academy.[12]

Alam is among the last to have photographed Nelson Mandela. This was during a meeting between Professor Muhammad Yunus and Madiba on 10 July 2009, at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.

Alam has covered news events including natural disasters, governmental upheavals, the deaths of garment factory workers, human rights abuses, Bangladeshi government and military's repression and the "disappearances" of political opponents.[1] [14]

He was a member of the jury board of The BOBs' award.[16]

Crossfire

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Crossfire is a series of photographs taken by Alam. The exhibition was curated by Jorge Villacorta, a Peruvian art critic, curator, and colleague of Alam. The exhibition was completed in 2010 and displayed at Drik Gallery in Dhaka.[17][18] The photographs show locations and objects where extrajudicial killings happened because of Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).[18] Human Rights Watch has called RAB a "death squad" because of these reported killings.[19] RAB was established in 2004 as a paramilitary force to combat gangsters and thugs in the streets, but in late 2007, the battalion was accused of over 350 extrajudicial killings and the torturing of hundreds more.[20]

State repression

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Crossfire

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The closure by RAB and the local police of the 2010 exhibition titled Crossfire on the topic of extrajudicial killings sparked nationwide protests.[21][12][22][23][14] Drik Gallery which housed the exhibition was barricaded before its opening on grounds that the photographs would "create anarchy".[24] After Drik's lawyers served legal notice on the government, the police barricade was removed. The response of the court and subsequent events enabled Drik to open the exhibition for public viewing on 31 March.[25]

2018 Bangladesh road safety protests

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On 5 August 2018, David Bergman tweeted that Shahidul Alam had been taken from his home in Dhanmondi by 30 to 35 plainclothes police officers. This happened shortly after Alam, in a live interview with Al Jazeera, criticized the government's violent response to the 2018 Bangladesh road safety protests which he had been documenting via live videos on Facebook.[26][14][27][28] Alam was believed to have been arrested for saying that the protests "stemmed from anger about widespread government corruption, and not just the bus accident that initially sparked them."[29]

Shahidul Alam was shown arrested by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police the next day.[28] He was charged under Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act and was remanded for seven days. Alam told the court that he had been tortured while in police custody.[12][13] The Supreme Court halted the seven-day remand on 7 August, and after observing his physical condition ordered authorities to admit him to a hospital. Alam was taken to a hospital on 8 August at 9 am. However, he was taken back to the office of the Detective Branch of police again at 2 pm on the same day. Alam's lawyer Sara Hossain said the case would not stand in court.[30]

Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists urged the Bangladeshi government to immediately release Alam without filing charges,[14][31] as did Mumbai Press Club, Bombay News Photographer Association,[32] Reporters Without Borders[12] PEN International,[33] Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Prince Claus Fund and its network partners, Free Press Unlimited, and World Press Photo Foundation,[34][35][36] United Nations human rights experts, and European Parliament.

Amplified through hashtag #FreeShahidulAlam, Alam also received an outpouring of support in the media from Nobel Laureates, authors, fellow photographers, artists, intellectuals, friends and family. The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation issued a statement that was signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman, Richard Branson, Richard Curtis, Professor Muhammad Yunus, Óscar Arias Sánchez, José Manuel Ramos-Horta, and Gro Harlem Brundtland amongst others.[37] This was an adaptation from a letter posted a day earlier on Twitter by Hollywood star Sharon Stone which also included signatories such as Jimmy Wales.[38] A joint statement by leading British artists and curators was signed amongst others by Anish Kapoor, Akram Khan, and Steve McQueen.[39] A World Press Photo statement released 100 days into his detention was signed amongst others by Romila Thapar and Salima Hashmi.[40] Separate statements were issued by Urvashi Butalia,[41] Faisal Edhi (son of Abdul Sattar Edhi),[42] Angela Y. Davis,[43][44] Vijay Prashad, Arundhati Roy, and Noam Chomsky.[33][45] As many as 426 academics from various universities in Australia urged the Government of Bangladesh to release him immediately.[46]

In Dhaka, on October 16, around 100 photographers formed a human chain at the base of Raju Memorial Sculpture under the banner of "Shahidul Alam Er Muktir Dabitey Alokchitribrindo".[47]

On the other hand, Sajeeb Wazed, the son of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, questioned those defending and demanding freedom of Alam in a controversial Facebook post.[48][49]

Alam has recounted some of his experiences in his reply to Arundhati Roy's open letter addressed to him while he was in jail.[50][51]

After 107 days of imprisonment, Alam was granted bail by Bangladesh High Court and released on 20 November 2018.[52]

He has challenged the legality of the Section 57 of the ICT act with the Bangladesh Supreme Court after his challenge was rejected by Bangladesh High Court.[53][54]

Arundhati Roy at Chobi Mela X

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On March 4, 2019, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police revoked an invitation for Arundhati Roy's talk scheduled as part of the 10th edition of Chobi Mela International Photography Festival. After 24 hours of uncertainty, the organizers of Chobi Mela finally held her talk with Shahidul Alam at an alternative venue.[55][56][57]

Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie 2024

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On 21 November 2023, authorities from the German cities of Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, and Heidelberg canceled the 10th edition of the Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie taking place in March 2024. Alam had criticised the genocidal attacks on the Palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli project on his social media accounts, which was deemed "anti-semitic".[58] In agreement with longstanding main sponsor BASF, the Biennale's board and three cities' mayors of cultural affairs decided that Alam's social media activity since 7 October 2023 meant that the Biennale could not go ahead.[59]

Alam stated that the Biennale had "incorrectly equated" his social media activity "to antisemitism". "We feel that the failure to draw a distinction between criticism of a government and of a peoples, is irresponsible and damaging to the honesty of public discourse," he said.[60] Alam told Al Jazeera: "I am an anti-Zionist which means I am against colonialism, settler colonialism, against racism, against apartheid and genocide. I am not an anti-Semite, and it's most unfortunate that Germany chooses to conflate the two, [as this] serves and furthers the white supremacist agenda."[61]

Publications

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Author

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  • Shahidul Alam: Singed but not burned. Edited by Ina Puri. Kolkota: Emami Art, 2023.[62]
  • The Tide Will Turn. Göttingen, Germany: Steidl, 2019. ISBN 978-3-95829-693-0.
  • My Journey as a Witness. Skira, 2011. Edited by Rosa Maria Falvo. ISBN 978-88-572-0966-1.[1]
  • Portraits of Commitment. UNAIDS, 2009.
  • Nature's Fury. Hibrida; London: Concern Worldwide, 2007. ISBN 978-0955029974. Text in English and Urdu.

Editor

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  • Ways of Life. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Drik Picture Library, 2014. Edited by Alam. ISBN 9789843383099. With an introduction by Rubana Huq.
  • Under the Banyan Tree. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Pathshala, South Asian Media Academy, 2011. Edited by Alam. ISBN 9789843334442.
  • Blink: 100 photographers, 10 curators, 10 writers. New York: Phaidon, 2002. 2004, ISBN 978-0714844589. Alam was a joint curator.

Published works

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  • "What One Person Can Do: The Amazing Life of Abdul Sattar Edhi". Written by Richard Covington, photographs by Shahidul Alam. In: What Matters: The World's Preeminent Photojournalists and Thinkers Depict Essential Issues of Our Time (2008) edited by David Elliot Cohen.
  • "Humanitarian to a Nation: Abdul Sattar Edhi". Published in: Aramco World (2004). Written by Richard Covington, photographs by Shahidul Alam.

Exhibitions

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Own work

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Curator

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Professorships

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Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Estrin, James (19 July 2013). "Wresting the Narrative From the West". Lens Blog. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  2. ^ Karim, Fariha (April 2009). "Shahidul Alam. The man who transformed the face of photography in Bangladesh". universes.art. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Honorary Fellowships – RPS". Royal Photographic Society. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  4. ^ "Photographer Shahidul Alam returns his honorary doctorate to the University of the Arts London". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  5. ^ Star, The Daily. "Solidarity with Palestine: Shahidul Alam returns honorary UK university doctorate". asianews.network. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  6. ^ Islam, K. Z. (11 July 2012). "Nawab Bahadur Abdul Latif". The Daily Star. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  7. ^ Khan, Muhammad Mojlum (2013). The Muslim Heritage of Bengal: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of Great Muslim Scholars, Writers and Reformers of Bangladesh and West Bengal. Kube Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-84774-052-6.
  8. ^ a b c "Shifting the Lens: Shahidul Alam's radical ways of seeing Bangladesh". The Caravan.
  9. ^ a b "Shahidul Alam's new show combats Islamophobia, extremism". The Punch Magazine.
  10. ^ "Shahidul Alam: His Journey as a Witness". The Daily Star.
  11. ^ Karim, Elita (8 February 2008). "Changing the Face of Photography". The Daily Star. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  12. ^ a b c d e "An Acclaimed Photographer in Bangladesh Says He Was Tortured". The New York Times. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d Estrin, James (16 August 2018). "Shahidul Alam: A Singular Voice in Photography for Dignity and Human Rights". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d e Safi, Michael (6 August 2018). "Photographer charged as police crackdown in Bangladesh intensifies". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  15. ^ "Chobi-Mela". Asia Pulse. United News of Bangladesh. 6 December 2004. Festival director for Chobi Mela Shahidul Alam presided.
  16. ^ "DW Award: "The Bobs" names its winners for 2015". Deutsche Welle (Press release). Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  17. ^ Mariátegui, José-Carlos (2010). "Re-interpretations in Crossfire and the Global Voice of Resistance: An installation by Shahidul Alam". Third Text. 24 (6): 760–763. doi:10.1080/09528822.2010.517928.
  18. ^ a b Gonzalez, David (16 March 2010). "Where Death Squads Struck in Bangladesh". Lens Blog. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Bangladesh 'death squad' trained by UK police resumes extrajudicial killing". The Guardian. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  20. ^ Bergman, David. "Rapid Action Battalion: Bangladesh's notorious paramilitary force". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  21. ^ Gonzalez, David (16 March 2010). "Where Death Squads Struck in Bangladesh". Lens Blog. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  22. ^ Gonzalez, David (16 March 2010). "Where Death Squads Struck in Bangladesh". Lens Blog.
  23. ^ Bayazid Akter (22 March 2010). "'Crossfire' exhibition sparks angry police reaction". Demotix. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  24. ^ "Bangladesh: Allow Photo Exhibit of Crossfire Killings". Human Rights Watch. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  25. ^ Rahnuma Ahmed (n.d.), Representing 'Crossfire': politics, art and photography, retrieved 31 March 2015
  26. ^ Arifur Rahman Rabbi (5 August 2018). "Photographer Shahidul Alam picked up from his home". Dhaka Tribune.
  27. ^ "A Bangladeshi Photographer's Arrest Is a Worrying Sign for Press Freedom". Time. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  28. ^ a b "Joy: Shahidul Alam's claim of torture, another ill motive against govt". Dhaka Tribune. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  29. ^ "Photographer Shahidul Alam jailed for comments on Bangladeshi government corruption". British Journal of Photography. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  30. ^ "Shahidul Alam's lawyer: charges 'concocted'". Deutsche Welle. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  31. ^ "Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam detained after post about Dhaka protests". Committee to Protect Journalists. 5 August 2018.
  32. ^ "Journalists condemn abduction of renowned photographer Shahidul Alam". India Today. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  33. ^ a b "Pen International campaigner on arrest of acclaimed Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  34. ^ "Calling for the release of Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam | World Press Photo". www.worldpressphoto.org. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  35. ^ "Shahidul Alam's 100-day detention must end | World Press Photo". www.worldpressphoto.org. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  36. ^ "Shahidul Alam Detained: Appeal for his Release". Prince Claus Fund. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  37. ^ "Call for Release of Dr. Shahidul Alam and Students in Bangladesh | RFK Human Rights". ROBERT F. KENNEDY HUMAN RIGHTS. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  38. ^ Cascone, Sarah (21 August 2018). "Sharon Stone Joins Nobel Laureates to Demand the Release of Jailed Bangladeshi Photographer Shahidul Alam". Artnet News. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  39. ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (2 September 2018). "British artists join fight for release of Bangladeshi photojournalist". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  40. ^ "Shahidul Alam's 100-day detention must end | World Press Photo". www.worldpressphoto.org. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  41. ^ "'The Shahidul Alam I know is gentle': Zubaan publisher warns Bangladeshi lensman's arrest is threat to journalism". Firstpost. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  42. ^ Yasmin Jaffri (22 August 2018). Humanitarian Ties: Why Shahidul Alam Admired Pak Philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi The Wire. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  43. ^ Letters (12 August 2018). "Arrest of Shahidul Alam is an attack on rights in Bangladesh". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  44. ^ Davis, Ben (13 August 2018). "Why Everyone Should Be Paying Close Attention to the Case of Jailed Bangladeshi Photographer Shahidul Alam". Artnet News. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  45. ^ "Noam Chomsky, Arundhati Roy among writers, artists urging Bangladesh #FreeShahidul". Journeys to democracy. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  46. ^ "Statement from Australian academics urging the Government of Bangladesh to free RMIT University Adjunct Professor Dr Shahidul Alam – RMIT University". nteu.org.au. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  47. ^ "Cameras raised in solidarity". The Daily Star. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  48. ^ "Sheikh Hasina's Son Has Exposed the Deceit in the Case Against Shahidul Alam". The Wire. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  49. ^ "Joy questions demand to free photographer Shahidul Alam". Bdnews24. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  50. ^ Roy, Arundhati (15 November 2018). "Amid arrests and killings, Bangladesh and India must fight censorship". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  51. ^ "Shahidul Alam replies to Arundhati Roy: "Tide will turn, and nameless, faceless people will rise"". National Herald. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  52. ^ "Bangladeshi Photographer Shahidul Alam Released on Bail". Time. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  53. ^ "Legality of ICT case: SC to hear Shahidul Alam's appeal". The Daily Star. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  54. ^ "HC rejects Shahidul Alam's writ petition challenging legality of ICT case". The Daily Star. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  55. ^ Batycka, Dorian (5 March 2019). "Shahidul Alam Discussion at Photo Festival Threatened by Bangladeshi Government Censorship". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  56. ^ Karim, Elita (6 March 2019). "Not a supporter of art made for propaganda". The Daily Star. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  57. ^ Forum, Indian Writers' (7 March 2019). "Dhaka police revokes invitation for Arundhati Roy's event". Peoples Dispatch. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  58. ^ "German photo biennial cancelled after curator's posts are deemed antisemitic". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  59. ^ "ArtAsiaPacific: Germany Cancels Entire Biennale Over Curator's Facebook Posts". artasiapacific.com. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  60. ^ Smyth, Diane. "The 2024 Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie is cancelled - 1854 Photography". www.1854.photography. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  61. ^ Soussi, Alasdair. "'I am not an anti-Semite': Pro-Palestine artists cancelled across Europe". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  62. ^ "Singed But Not Burnt Curated by Ina Puri by Shahidul Alam at Emami Art - Artland". www.artland.com. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  63. ^ "Shahidul Alam: Truth to Power – Rubin Museum of Art". rubinmuseum.org. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  64. ^ a b "Arts and human rights organisations denounce arrest of Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam". theartnewspaper.com. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  65. ^ "The Guardian view on Shahidul Alam: Bangladesh should let him go". The Guardian (Editorial). 8 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  66. ^ "Shilpakala Padak 2014 conferred". The Daily Star. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  67. ^ "The Lucie Awards". Lucie Awards. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  68. ^ "Drik, Pathshala founder Shahidul Alam wins Lucie Award". Dhaka Tribune. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  69. ^ Sun, The Daily. "Shahidul Alam selected for int'l photography award". Daily Sun. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  70. ^ "Photographer Shahidul Alam wins Tribute Award from UK". New Age. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  71. ^ "Shahidul Alam wins ICP photography award". The dhakatribune. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  72. ^ "2019 Infinity Award: Special Presentation—Shahidul Alam". ICP. February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  73. ^ "Shahidul Alam among winners of CPJ's 2020 International Press Freedom Awards". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
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