Let new thinking spread through Book Fair

February is the month memorable for the sacrifices of language martyrs. Various arrangements related to Bangla language and culture will be made all over the month across the country. As an addition to that, the month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair began at the premises of Bangla Academy and adjacent Suhrawardy Udyan in city. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has inaugurated the fair on Wednesday. The book fair is very important to Bengali nation and a platform for connecting readers and writers.

The book fair first began on February 8, 1972 on a limited arrangement showcasing only 32 books at the Bottala Chattar of Bangla Academy. With the passage of time, the fair is being organized in a wide scale. The first time, the Ekushey Book Fair was arranged in a wide scale in 1984. From there on, the range of the fair kept getting expanded. The fair was expanded to Suhrawardy Udyan from 2014 as Bangla Academy premise was not enough to abode the fair.

The fact is to be noted that our passion and love for Bangla language is only seen in February and it's been absent in rest of the 11 months. Bangla has been recognized as the state language long ago. But unfortunately, exercise of the language has not yet been established in all levels. It has been three years of the High Court order that banned using mixed languages and English in signboards, billboards, nameplates, and other media advertisings. However, the implementation of the order is not seen yet. No nation can move forward showing such kinds of negligence and insolence to its own language and culture. We must realize the fact as a nation.

Books enlighten people and lead them to knowledge. Books purify our souls. A good book leads people to creativity and new thinking which wash away all kinds of prejudice, misunderstanding and bigotry. Thousands of books in the fair will spread new thinking and creativity to the brains and minds of readers. We hope that new and latest books in the fair will overcast the minds of the readers. 

Some unwanted incidents occurred in the last two years of the fair. But this year, tight security measures have been taken inside and outside the fair. All concerned will have to be aware so that any unwanted incidents won't be able to occur even with the presence and surveillance of the law enforcement agencies.

Surveillance on religious provocative books has been the subject of repeated talking over the days. We hope that all concerned including the writers and publishers will be alert on religious provocative books. However, it must be ensured that no writer or publisher face any harassment for the surveillance. Besides, all should be aware to keep the solemnity of the fair. Let the fair be a successful one with the combined participation of authors, publishers and readers.

risingbd/DHAKA/2 Feb 2017/Ali Nowsher/Augustin Sujan