Bangla Academy Award turns into a national disgrace

The Bangla Academy is deeply intertwined with the glorious history of the formation of our nation-state. From the partition of the country onwards, there have been continuous attacks on our national identity and the rights to our mother tongue by West Pakistan. The struggle for the recognition of these rights turned in the 1952 Language Movement. The Language Movement was not only a battle for the Bengali language to be recognized as the state language, but also a struggle to preserve our language, culture, and heritage. Through this struggle, the foundation for the development of a secular nation-state was laid.

In this context, the general election of East Bengal in 1954 was held. Three great leaders of the time—AK Fazlul Huq, Maulana Bhashani, and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy —came together to form a political alliance called the ‘Jukta Front’. The Jukta Front released a 21-point electoral manifesto, which remains memorable and holds immense importance in our political history. This manifesto had a lasting impact, especially on the 1969 Mass Uprising and its 11-point movement. In the 16th point of the 21-point manifesto, it was first suggested to establish a research institute for the study, development, promotion, and propagation of Bengali language and literature. Subsequently, the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly passed The Bengali Academy Act 1957, marking the beginning of the Bangla Academy as an autonomous institution. After the independence of Bangladesh, on May 17, 1972, the President of Bangladesh issued The Bangla Academy Order, 1972, transforming the previous The Bengali Academy into Bangla Academy, which, with a recent spelling correction, is now known as Bangla Academy.

The role of the Bangla Academy in preserving, promoting, developing, and researching the Bengali language, literature, culture, history, and heritage cannot be merely described as a symbol of intellectual engagement; the Bangla Academy is, in fact, a symbol of our struggles and resistance. The position of the President of the Bangla Academy has been held by our leading poets, writers, scholars, intellectuals, and thinkers. The position of Director-General was also once held by our most talented and respected personalities. Even the honorary fellows of the Academy are esteemed individuals, scholars, and distinguished figures of our country. Overall, we have a unique sense of devotion, respect, and affection for the Bangla Academy. Much of the pride we take in our language and culture is embodied in the Bangla Academy. However, that pride is now on the verge of being tarnished.

The incident that sparked this is related to the Bangla Academy Literary Award 2024. Those who follow the current literary and artistic scene in Bangladesh must already know that just two days ago, the Bangla Academy announced the winners of the 2024 Literary Awards, only to suspend the announcement two days later. Such a disgraceful incident has never occurred in the 70-year history of the Bangla Academy.
Announcing an award and then suspending it is tantamount to reprobation. Such an event could not even happen in a village, let alone at the nation’s most prestigious institution. Last Thursday (January 23), the Bangla Academy announced the names of the individuals selected for the 2024 Literary Awards. The nominees for this year's awards were: Masud Khan for poetry, Selim Morshed for fiction, Shubhashish Sinha for drama and dramatic literature, Salimullah Khan for essays and prose, Faruk Nawaz for children's literature, GH Habib for translation, Muhammad Shahjahan Mia for research, Rezaur Rahman for science, Mohammad Hannan for liberation war-related literature, and Syed Jamil Ahmed for folklore.

After the announcement of the nominees, there was widespread discussion and criticism on social media. Some raised the question: why is there not a single woman among the nominees? Doesn’t Bangladesh have any female poets or writers? The second, and more intense, criticism revolved around the alleged close connections of several of the nominees with the previous Awami League government.

The Bangla Academy Literary Award has always been surrounded by controversy. Many awardees face criticism. For the past 30 years, the institution has been nurtured and influenced under political patronage. It is widely known that to receive a Bangla Academy Award, one must often appeal to the fellows, the secretary, or the influential figures in the Ministry of Culture.

Typically, a selection committee of 20-30 people is formed from the fellows of the Bangla Academy each year. The task of this committee is to propose at least one name of writers, poets, and researchers from various categories for the award. After that, the Director-General of the Bangla Academy forms his own committee with his preferred people. This committee is the one that ultimately makes the final decision on who will receive the award. The rule at this stage is that the selectors must finalize the names from the ones they have proposed, and they cannot add new names into the list.
If the award is given through this kind of process, there is nothing to be proud of. Many people do not even feel any pride in receiving it. Yet, some boast about it, while others make a commotion. In recent years, the Bangla Academy Literary Award has become somewhat funny. Rather than genuine poets, writers, and researchers, it is often the politically favored, lower-quality poets and writers who are more eager to win this award. As a result, the true poets and writers feel more embarrassed than proud when they receive the award.

After the mass uprising, and with many reforms taking place in the state, there was hope that at least this year, there would be no controversy over the Bangla Academy Award. But this year, we witnessed the most intense debate in recent memory. If the matter had remained just a debate, it might have been tolerable, but it has escalated into a mob justice situation. In the name of protest, some are attempting to lay siege to the Bangla Academy, calling for the removal of the director general, and demanding the dismissal of several employees at the academy.

On Sunday (January 26), a group of aggrieved writers and leaders of the National Cultural Revolution gathered at the Bangla Academy, demanding the immediate cancellation of the Bangla Academy Literary Award and punishment for those involved in the award scandal. They have also called for a comprehensive reform of the Bangla Academy, the removal of fascist elements, and the necessary action against those complicit in the controversy surrounding the award.
In the protest program, poet Shams Musa stated that the Director-General of the Bangla Academy, Mohammad Azam, failed to uphold the promise of a cultural revolution that he had made while standing on the blood of the students and youth. He emphasized that culture is sovereignty, and if it is treated as a game or mockery, it will be strongly resisted, just as they had once opposed the collaborators of the autocrats.

Criticism has been pointed at Mohammad Azam, the DG of the Bangla Academy, as well as the cultural advisor, Mustafa Sarwar Farooki. In such a situation, the cultural advisor wrote on his verified Facebook account, "The list of names announced for the Bangla Academy Award has been suspended. It is also necessary to mention that the strange policy which allows for such bizarre and factional awards should be quickly reviewed. Moreover, we need to review how the Bangla Academy will be run, the policies it will follow—everything will be looked into. We are now moving towards a comprehensive reform of the Academy. If the country can undergo reform, why not the Bangla Academy?"

The question arises: can a cultural advisor resolve such an important institutional matter on his social media page? This is an institutional decision. If the Bangla Academy needed reform, why was it not done before the award announcement? It has been five months since the mass uprising, and yet they have not been able to identify the allies of the autocrats? Why are they being publicly shamed after the award announcement? This is socially humiliating. And why was this done through mob justice?

The Bangla Academy has announced that within three working days, the previously announced list of awardees will be reconsidered and reissued. While the accused may be removed from the list, the question remains—will this be acceptable in any way? Who will replace them? Will the newly added awardees be pleased with this decision? Perhaps this time a female writer will be included, but will that even be seen as an honor under these circumstances? There are many questions, but few answers. What is likely to happen is that, in an attempt to quell the criticism, the issue will be buried under a facade of change. However, if the names of any new awardees stir further controversy, and mob justice ensues again, will the Bangla Academy suspend the awards once more?

Regardless of what happens, this incident of censure surrounding the award will remain a shameful chapter in our nation's history for a long time.


Kamrul Ahsan: Writer and Journalist