Time for Bangla Academy to hand over the reins of Ekushey Book Fair to someone else

When Chittaranjan Saha (1927-2007) took the initiative to arrange a book fair on the Bangla Academy premises in 1972 to commemorate the martyrs of the 1952 language movement, no one could have predicted that it would grow this big—ultimately becoming an integral part of modern-day Bangladesh's tradition and heritage. 

However, 51 years down the road, no one perhaps now is acknowledging the fact that it is time for a different approach to the 'Amar Ekushey Book Fair'.

It is high time that other authorities, such as the association of publishers, got the right to organise the fair, rather than the Bangla Academy. In 1978, Bangla Academy volunteered to collaborate with the book publishers to hold the fair, marking an official beginning with state patronage. 

When commoners' initiatives or exercises are taken over by the state, the enthusiasm, passion and excitement gradually evaporates, despite the state's imposition of pomp and grandeur. Take the example of paying tributes at the altar of Shaheed Minar, the monument dedicated to the memory of 1952 Bengali Language Movement martyrs, on 21 February. It is impossible for ordinary people now to reach the vicinity of Shaheed Minar on 21 February, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Language Movement heroes, due to VVIP movements and strict security protocols. It has become a state affair, taking the gloss off the event.  

It is better if the Bangla Academy, established on 3 December, 1955 at Burdwan House, is focused on research on the Bangla language, literature and culture, besides publication and translation, to help build an enlightened nation that is research-oriented and high in intellectual capacity. It is time for Bangla Academy to hand over the reins of organising the book fair.  

Bangla Academy was the immediate outcome of a popular demand to set up a centre for research on Bangla language, enshrined in the famous twenty-one-point election manifesto of the united front, led by Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, AK Fazlul Huq and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, in the provincial elections of 1954. However, in recent times, it has failed to live up to the mandate of creating an enlightened nation.

Off late, Bangla Academy, which is an autonomous institution funded by the Bangladesh government, banned many books from the fair, due to their controversial subject matter, siding with rulers or people in power to rule that the books were "propagating false info, causing unease in society and obscene". 

Concepts of good and bad, truth and falsehood, and obscene and modest are all relative and subjective, varying from person to person, society to society, and across time. A poem might delight one person while it might deject another; a painting can earn appreciation from one, whereas it draws ire from others; and a flower can be a source of joy for someone while it means nothing to another.

Socrates was charged with corrupting the youth of Athens by encouraging them to challenge the traditional and established gods. Galileo Galilei was persecuted for his conviction that the Earth revolves around the sun, much to the dismay of the Catholic Church, which used to believe otherwise.  

Being a government-funded organisation, it gives in to pressure, banning 'controversial' books and prioritising political parties and state organisations over book publishers in allotting coveted stalls. A recent development also hints at the possibility that the authorities might be looking to tighten their control over the affairs of Bangla Academy. In a first of its kind at the 2023 version of 'Amar Ekushey Book Fair, ' Bangla Academy had to use the Bangladesh government monogram on the invitation card of the inaugural programme, which drew critical reaction from literary figures and writers. 

While Bangladeshi authorities have 'failed to uphold the autonomy' of a research organisation, they might look at British authorities on how they defend freedom of expression. Take the example of their recent position on BBC, when Indian tax authorities raided the Delhi and Mumbai offices of the UK government-funded broadcaster. The raids came weeks after the BBC aired a critical documentary on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to media reports, David Rutley, a junior minister, strongly defended BBC's editorial freedom, saying, "It criticises us (government), it criticises the (opposition) Labour party, and it has that freedom that we believe is so important. That freedom is key, and we want to be able to communicate its importance to our friends across the world, including the government in India."

There were many areas where the Bangla Academy could have contributed to the development of book publishing in Bangladesh over these years. It could have demonstrated its wisdom and authority to establish discipline in book publishing with a proper editing process, at least for books to be displayed at the fair.

Most literary publications, especially those on poetry, reportedly hardly go through the formal editing process in Bangladesh. TS Eliot's masterpiece poem "Waste Land" is known for having been 'heavily edited' by fellow poet Ezra Pound. The lack of editing obscures the difference between books published by traditional publishers and writing shared on social media and other online platforms. 

Over the years, the authorities have failed to open the fair to the rest of the world in a bid to give undue protection to local publishers. The authorities are all happy to live in their own well. 

Even Bangla books by Bengali writers from India are not spared. It sounds super nationalistic. Yet, in this age of information superhighway, it sounds foolish and outdated on the part of the authorities. Even in the past, these clichéd tactics did not prevent readers from consuming foreign books. 

Let the authorities embrace new approaches and the sooner, the better. 

Shamim A. Zahedy is a journalist. He can be reached at szahedy@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.