We wish all success of the month-long ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2024’ which begins on the Bangla Academy premises in the capital Dhaka today. The Ekushey Book Fair, a mega festival for Bangalis, plays an important role in helping our culture and history flourish and above all, enlightening the society.
It is the country’s biggest congregation of booklovers, authors, and publishers. The theme of this year’s Ekushey Book Fair is ‘Paro Boi, Garo Desh: Bangabandhur Bangladesh’ (read books, build country: Bangabandhu’s Bangladesh).
As February, the month of our historic Language Movement, begins today, we pay rich tributes to the valiant sons of the soil who gave blood for establishing Bangla as the state language.
The Ekushey Book Fair is held every year in the month of February, commemorating the sacrifices of the brave sons who were killed during Language Movement on 21 February 1952.
It is a matter of pride and dignity for the nation that there is no example of such sacrifices anywhere in the world for mother tongue. Only Bangali people gave their blood to this great cause.
Amar Ekushey Book Fair has become an integral part of Bangali culture. Every year, the book fair organised by Bangla Academy creates a unique awakening among the writers, readers, cultural activists and people from all walks of life.
The Language Movement had sown the seeds of the country’s independence. After 19 years of the Language Movement, we got independence on December 16, 1971 in exchange for the lives of three million people and the honour of two lakh women.
Amar Ekushey Book
Fair has become an integral
part of Bangali culture
Therefore, this historic month still works as a source of inspiration to the people of the country. People, particularly the young generation, take a fresh vow to work unitedly for enriching Bangla language and making the country’s hard-earned independence more meaningful.
We the Bangalee have achieved all things through struggles at each stage of life as no one did offer those to us cordially.
Therefore, we imbued with spirit of Liberation War believe Ekushey February still inspires us, teaches us the language of protest, gives strength of struggle for realising any lawful demand and shows us the road to victory.
However, in this digital era, our young people are now prefer to read on a computer screen or smart phone screen rather than a printed book or magazine. So, the new generation should be encouraged to develop the habit of reading creative books as a healthy generation can only develop a nation.
All concerned, including academicians and literary personalities, have to inspire the young generation to build book reading habit to build them as worthy and enlightened citizens. There is no alternative to reading books for building a knowledge-based future generation.We also urge all to present books to their near and dear ones on their different occasions. Books can also act like a friend, and can pull one up from moral degradation.
We believe that reading of book can help remove social degradation and dishonesty as well. So, all should read books to get enlightened for making Bangladesh a non-communal and corruption-free country.