Abdullah Zobair :
February, remarkable for the sacrifice of souls to establish mother tongue of Bengali nationalists as one of the state languages of Pakistan in 1952, incubated the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. February sparks the beacon of struggle against mighty establishment for innate and sacrosanct rights — self rule, free expression, assembly and many others — for descendents. The martyrs of 1952 paved the way to give an identity of statehood to the Bengali nationalists whom in a nine-month-long war spelt the name -Bangladesh. Such a passionate saga of sacrifice was to soon transcend into worldwide embrace through the Unesco’s declaration of Amar Ekushey as the International Mother Language Day. The strive for native language has light up the beams of our culture, arts, literature and statehood in colors and festivities, in which Ekushey Book Fair is the most majestic in its history, gatherings and intellects. The book fair since inception in 1972 has been getting more and more assiduously colorful diversity, except some exceptions.
The book fair gathers millions of hearts and souls with interest in arts and culture on the premises of Bangla Academy, the most immediate output of the 1952’s movement. Time has come to mould the central gravity of the book fair into a stride for knowledge society.
The month-long Amar Ekushey Granthamela is perhaps the most eagerly awaited book fair in our country which has had a chequered history. The fair was the brainchild of the late Chittaranjan Saha, founder of publishing house Muktadhara. He embarked on this front in a very limited sale in front of the Bangla Academy on February 21, 1972. Later other book publishers joined in unofficially. Bangla Academy took over the fair authority in 1978 and in 1984 it was named ‘Amar Ekushey Granthamela’. Gradually, it became the official and hugely popular book fair in the country. The iconic book fair with the ever increasing magnificence and majesty has been grabbing the attention of millions people of all ranges.
In the essence though, the Language Martyrs’ Day heralded a whole series of events ranging from establishing Bangla as a state language, upholding all the associated cultural rights and asserting a self-identity against stunning odds of forced impositions by the then Pakistani establishment. There followed other developments such as the education movement, 1962; the Six-Point movement for political and economic autonomy, 1966; the mass upheaval against autocratic Ayub regime, 1969; the massive 1970 election win; and denial of power to Bangabandhu leaving the people indignant over what was a predictable betrayal. Befell the genocidal crackdown eventually culminated the Liberation War and consequent auspicious birth of Bangladesh. A common thread running through all these events, we pay homage to our first martyrs.
Ekushey is, thus, a repository of all our inspirations and a standard-bearer of unity, secular, and pluralistic ethos. As we celebrate the day as the International Mother Language Day, the dignity of the mother tongues is emblazoned in the hearts and minds of peoples everywhere. Along with demanding respect for every language the Unesco declaration is imbued with the objective of providing strong underpinnings to protection of minority languages from extinction.
The theme of this year’s book fair is “Diamond Jubilee of Bangla Academy” marking the sixty years of the foundation of the organization. Considering the increasing number of visitors, the fair was extended to the Suhrawardy Udyan in 2014, much to the delight of the booklovers, writers and publishers. The purpose of this design is perhaps to let in more people without the usual elbowing of hurrying bookworms and spectators. This year the authorities have allotted a total of 651 units – 111 on the Bangla Academy premises to 82 organisations and 540 to 320 organisations at Suhrawardy Udyan. Besides, 15 pavilions have been allocated for 14 publishing houses, including the Bangla Academy. With the cumulative necessity of information technology what withering away traditional life and sculpting our everyday activities has touched its creative hands in the fair also.
Bangla Academy has taken all-out measures to prevent any untoward incident as the month-long festivity is taking place amid a challenge of ensuring security this year. Security experts sensed that centering the fair militants may become active to flaunt their strength disguising huge gatherings. In the premises of the fair, writer Avijit Roy and Prof Humayun Azad, on whom the militants were angered, were attacked in last year and 2004 respectively, frightening us. Despite taking “all-out security measures” and tight police vigilance near about the incident, the attackers audaciously run away through the law enforcers’ fingers last year. So, any recurrence of such incidents must be blocked in any way. The authorities has set up as many as 200 CCTV cameras and several watchtowers for proper monitoring of the area aiming at avoiding any untoward incident. But, book publishers are not fully confident upon the assurances from Bangla Academy and law enforcing agencies. It is noteworthy that harsh security measures have also dimmed the brilliant colors of the festive. The law enforcers should also be vigilant to fending off the unpleasant moves and advances on female visitors and harassment till the last moment of the fair.
Poets, novelists, short story writers, essayists and playwrights wait eagerly through a year for the month of February to bring before the readers their creative works in the form of books. Booklovers from different places of the country come to the fair. The fair carries special significance to the budding poets and writers who feel elated by showing their just published books to friends and admirers. Broadening of the intellectual horizon of a person cannot be thought of without reading books. Reading books makes a person perfect; it is through reading books that a person can create a world within him or her. Being engrossed in books a person can enlighten him and get rid of meanness, gross mundane greed and selfishness. Great Persian poet and astronomer Omar Khayyam desired to have a book of verse with him in his contemplated heaven. Poet Rabindranath Tagore laid great emphasis on reading books in his seminal essay ‘Library’. Famous essayist and philosopher Francis Bacon found that some books are to be tasted, some to be swallowed, while some few to be chewed on and digested. Eminent writer Pramatha Chaudhuri came up with the view that buying books does not make a person bankrupt. Great writers and scholars of different ages found solace in books.
Last year, more than 5,000 books came out on the occasion of the book fair. In these days of rapid technological advancement people in increasing numbers are turning to the internet. Books can also be read through the internet but collecting and reading printed books have a special appeal. Apart from the month-long Ekushey Book Fair, book fair can be arranged in all the districts under government or private initiatives for generating enthusiasm among people to read books. Another spectacular aspect of the book fair is a good number of little magazines make their emergence on the occasion of the book fair.
Over the years, the book fair has become a hub of consumerists and showcasing fanfare like trade fair. And in the history of book fair, in 2016 a bank first time sponsored the fair exhibiting the fair a commodity. The book fair despite extended over the times, mesmerized generations, and blossomed in hundreds of colors, fragrance and bunch; it has failed to achieve the core idea of book fair – promoting a knowledge-based society. Even, the interaction of writers and readers, readers and readers, and artists of other medium have not gain place rather selling of books of some popular writers. The fair is not a fair of emotion, conciseness, and intellect, but gathering of million spectators only. It is also noteworthy to raise question about the standard of the book published each year centering the book fair. The Bangla Academy authority or media do not judge the quality publication instead of quantity that impedimental to drive towards a knowledge-based society. At the same time when all intellectual works, book publication or disseminating knowledge revolve around the book fair only, the nation-building tasks through creating ideas and knowledge rest of the months of a year remains off.
The Bengali nation which drives on heart not head should be more judgmental in their acts from personal sphere to political sphere and for that knowledge is the best tools. It is around 65 years of Language movement and 45 years of liberation when we would be insightful in our choice? Without developing reading habit among vast people and going through the process the nation could not turn into a knowledge society. We, hope the book fair will promote the country more and more in promoting quality and thought provoking writings that will help to build the nation.
(Abdullah Zobair works for The New Nation.)
