Bangla Academy

Bangla Academy

বাংলা একাডেমি
Bangla Academy main building
Motto	Moder Gorob Moder Asha, A Mori Bangla Bhasha
Formation	December 3, 1955
Headquarters	Burdwan House
Location	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Director General	Shamsuzzaman Khan
Website	banglaacademy.org.bd

The Bangla Academy (pronounced: [baŋla ækaɖemi]) is Bangladesh's national language authority, established in 1954. It is located in Burdwan House in Ramna, Dhaka, within the grounds of the University of Dhaka and Suhrawardy Udyan.

The Bangla Academy hosts the annual Ekushey Book Fair and, the Dhaka Lit Fest.

History

Moder Gorob, depicting the language movement martyrs, is one of the features of Bangla Academy

The importance of establishing an organization for Bengali language was first emphasized by the linguist Muhammad Shahidullah.^[1][2] Later, following the Language movement, on April 27, 1952, the All Party National Language Committee decided to demand establishment of an organization for the promotion of Bengali language. During the 1954 parliamentary elections, the United Front's 21 point manifesto stated that, "The prime minister from the United Front will dedicate the Bardhaman House for establishing a research center for the Bengali language".^[2] Following the election success of the Front, the education minister Syed Azizul Haque placed the order to fulfill this promise.

In 1955, the government formed a committee to expedite the process. The committee was composed of leading intellectuals like Muhammad Shahidullah, Qazi Motahar Hossain, S.M. Bhattacharya, W. H. Shadani, and Muhammad Barkatullah. On December 3, 1955, the Chief Minister of East Bengal, Abu Hussain Sarkar, inaugurated the institute.^[2] Barkatullah acted as the Special Officer in charge. Later, in 1956, Muhammad Enamul Haque took over as the first director.^[3]

In 1957, an act of the parliament formally established the funding source and the Government support for the institute.^[2] The first book published by the academy was Laili Maznu, an epic by the medieval poet Dawlat Ujir Bahram Khan, and edited by Ahmed Sharif. The first fellow of the academy was the poet Farrukh Ahmed.^[2]

The publication division was established in early 1957; the research, culture and library divisions and translation division were set in 1958 and 1961 respectively.^[4]

After the independence of Bangladesh, the director's position was renamed Director General.^[3] Mazharul Islam, head of Bangla Department of Rajshahi University, was the first Director General of the institute.^[5] On 19 September 2008, a new 8-storied building, containing a 500-capacity auditorium and a 100-capacity seminar room, opened next to the main building.

Structure

The functions and structure of the institute was devised on the model of the French Academy.^[3]

Divisions

1. Research, Compilation and Folklore
2. Language, Literature, Culture and Publication
3. Textbook
4. Planning, Training

Activities

The main task of the Academy is to conduct research on Bengali language, culture, and history, and to publish Bengali literary and research work. It has also established the Bangla Academy Literary Award, given each year for contribution to the Bengali language.

To commemorate the Language movement and the Language martyr's day, the Academy organizes the month-long Ekushey Book Fair, the largest book fair in the country.

References

1. Al-Helal, Bashir (1986). Bangla Academy'r Itihaas (History of Bangla Academy) (in Bengali). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Bangla Academy.
2. Mamun, Muntasir (January 2004) [1993]. Dhaka: Smriti Bismritir Nogori (in Bengali) (3rd edition, 4th printing ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Ananya Publishers. pp. 178–180. ISBN 984-412-104-3.
3. Islam, Sirajul (2012). "Bangla Academy". In Islam, Sirajul; Helal, Bashir Al. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
4. "বাংলা একাডেমির সংক্ষিপ্ত ইতিহাস". Bangla Academy (in Bengali). Retrieved 11 August 2016.
5. Reporter. "Bangla Academy marks 54th founding anniv today". Dhaka Mirror. New Age BD. Retrieved 31 May 2015.