Bangladeshis may just get to see real television. Privately run.
When Ekushey Television (ETV) begins transmission on 16 December 1999, it will be the first private sector terrestrial TV station in Bangladesh, and also in South Asia. And the people at ETV are rather proud of it, not least because of this singular achievement.
The term ekushey (Bangla for 21) itself is a potent symbol. On 21 February 1952, students agitating in Dhaka for recognition of Bangla as one of the state languages of the then united Pakistan, were killed in police fire. The shooting ignited a series of protests that would last all the way to war and independence in 1971. (December 16 has been significantly chosen, as that is the day of victory over Pakistan in 1971.)
"Ekushey sums up what we are about and want to achieve. It's not just about a day in history which gave spirit to the nationalist movement based on culture and language, but the spirit which has driven the Bangla people to nationhood. It also means bridging the past with the future as well —this century's Ekushey spirit moving into the Ekushey [21st] century," says Simon Dring, one of the two managing directors of ETV.