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Published : 27 Sep 2025, 03:27 PM
The government is planning to postpone the Amar Ekushey Book Fair, pulled back to December due to the national elections in February and the start of Ramadan, until after the polls.
The home ministry recommended the move to the cultural affairs ministry due to security concerns.
However, the fair's organising body, Bangla Academy, is keen to hold the fair before the election.
Faisal Hasan, deputy chief information officer at the home ministry, said: “The law-and-order meeting discussed holding the book fair after the election. This has been communicated to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Now either the ministry or the organisers can respond.”
Asked about the matter, Bangla Academy Director-General Prof Mohammad Azam said: “The Ministry of Home Affairs has advised us not to hold the book fair before the election. We will speak with them by Sunday and then announce a decision.”
Officials from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs said that due to law-and-order concerns ahead of the national election, the government recommended postponing the Book Fair.
Bangla Academy Secretary Selim Reza added that they would discuss the timing with the home ministry and explain why holding the fair after the election would not be feasible.
The Bangladesh Book Publishers and Sellers Association had already said that organising the fair after the election, Ramadan, and Eid holidays would not be practical due to likely stormy and rainy weather.
Although the Amar Ekushey Book Fair is traditionally held in February, Bangla Academy had scheduled next year's edition for December because of the election and Ramadan. Ramadan is expected to start in the third week of February depending on moon sighting, and the interim government is moving forward with preparations for the 13th national election before that.
Bangla Academy said these two factors were taken into account when finalising the book fair dates.
The genesis of the fair can be traced back to 1972 when Chittaranjan Saha, founder of the publishing house Muktadhara, laid out books on the ground outside Bangla Academy on Language Movement Day, which later evolved into the Amar Ekushey Book Fair.
The fair was once suspended in 1993 during HM Ershad’s authoritarian rule due to anti-dictatorship protests. Otherwise, it has consistently been held. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, 2022, and 2023, the fair was shifted to March.
