ZCZC
BSS-28
PRESIDENT-PM-BOOK-FAIR
President, PM wish success of Ekushey Book Fair
DHAKA, Feb 1, 2020 (BSS) – President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in separate messages today wished success of the month-long ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2020’ scheduled to begin on Bangla Academy premises tomorrow.
The President and the Prime Minister paid their rich tributes to the martyrs of the historic Language Movement on the occasion of Amar Ekushey Book Fair.
In his message, Abdul Hamid said, “I appreciate the initiative of publishing 100 books on Bangabandhu by Bangla Academy apart from dedicating the book fair to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the occasion of his birth centenary”.
Noting that Bangla Academy established in 1955 is upholding the memories of the Language Movements in different ways, the President said the academy is working relentlessly to flourish Bangla language, literature and culture since its inception.
Terming Bangabandhu the creator of Bangladesh and he had a vital role in building the Bengali nation’s mind and mental development, Hamid said he (Bangabandhu) had started the Language Movement for the first time in 1948.
He went on saying that in the post liberation era, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had inaugurated the ‘National Literary Conference’ in 1974 for the first time on the Bangla Academy premises.
The President hoped that the ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair’ will be turned into a bearer of Bangla Language, culture, history and heritages upholding the spirit of the great Language Movement.
In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina greeted all, including Bangla Academy and local and foreign publishers, involved in arranging the ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair’.
“In this day, I pay due respect to the memories of the all Language Movement martyrs, including Salam, Barkat, Rafique, Jabber and Shafique. I also pay profound tributes to the leader of the Language Movement Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and all language veterans,” she said.
Referring to the Awami League government’s contributions in declaring the February 21 as International Mother Language Day in 1999, the premier said, “I have already raised a demand in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly for declaring the Bangla as an official language of the UN”.
“We have established the ‘International Mother Language Institute’ in the capital Dhaka aiming at protecting, flourishing and practicing all mother languages of the world,” she continued.
Noting that on the occasion of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu, Bangla Academy will publish 100 books on the life and works of Bangabandhu gradually during the month-long book fair from today, Sheikh Hasina said the book ‘Amar Dekha Naya Chin’ (The New China as I Saw) written by Bangabandhu is one of the attractions.
She hoped that the new book of Bangabandhu will get popularity to the local and foreign readers like — ‘Asamapta Atmajiboni’ (Bangabandhu’s Unfinished Memoirs) and ‘Karagarer Rojnamcha’ (Diary in Jail).
Pointing that Book fair awakens the human being’s existence, sense of living and spirit, the Prime Minister urged the writers and publishers to uphold the real history of the Liberation War and Bangabandhu through their writings.
Urging all for creating habit of book reading, Sheikh Hasina said, “It should be our pledge in the Amar Ekushe Book Fair that we will work together for building the hunger-poverty-free and happy -prosperous Sonar Bangladesh dreamt by father of the nation forgetting the all differences”.
BSS/PR/SAH/MMA/1700hrs