Why a Book Fair poster sparks debate?

A poster featuring the slogan "Inspiration of '52', Motivation for '24" has sparked intense discussion and criticism on the occasion of Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2025. The poster was displayed at several locations, including from TSC to Doyel Chattar.

It is reported that the image used in the poster, intended to represent the spirit of the 1952 Language Movement, is actually a photo taken on March 15, 1971, during a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar. After the inauguration of the book fair, several people raised allegations of historical distortion regarding the use of this image.

In response to the criticism, the Bangla Academy, which organizes the event, removed the poster. They clarified that the poster was not created by the Bangla Academy but was made by another party. Once the issue came to their attention, they took immediate action.

Regarding the issue, the Director-General of the Academy, Mohammad Azam, said, "First of all, this is not the Bangla Academy's poster. It is a book fair poster. It was not created by the organizers of the academy's fair. Another party created it. It somehow escaped our attention, but as soon as we became aware, the poster was removed."

Reasons behind the controversy
Intense criticism began on social media and everywhere else regarding the image used in the poster. The poster features a person, Nilu Haque, who was part of the Liberation War. Nilu Haque himself raised an objection, saying, "In the picture, I am holding a stick in the photo from March 15, 1971. I condemn the use of this image. I wasn’t even born in 1952. In 1952, the slogan was not for independence; it was for the mother tongue."

Raising accusations of historical distortion, Nilu Haque said, "Except for some collaborators like Razakars and Al-Badr, the other 75 million people were involved in this war. I was very young when I got involved in the liberation movement. The Liberation War is in my heart. When I see events from the war I lived through being distorted, I pick up my pen. I have heard severe criticism for standing against distortion, but I have never deviated from my principles. I believe the power of truth is immense. Truth shines in its own light, through someone’s hands."

Nilou Hakk said, "I am not affiliated with any party, but I am not neutral either; I am on the side of the Liberation War. My courage and inspiration come from the Liberation War. Therefore, I can pick up my pen to establish the truth of the Liberation War during any government's tenure."

Researcher Shahadat Parvez highlighted that it is an "unacceptable and unfortunate incident" to misrepresent a photo from 1971 as one from the 1952 Language Movement. He said, "A photo from the 1971 Liberation War was passed off as a picture from the 1952 Language Movement, sparking a storm of criticism on social media, especially on Facebook. The girl in the middle of the photo is Nilu Haque. She was a 10th-grade student at Agrani School at the time. The person whose face is covered by a stick is Shirin Akhtar, a leader of the JASAD party. She was an HSC examinee then. The girl on the far left is freedom fighter Forkan Begum, who was a student at Dhaka University at that time."

He further stated, "The photo is from a women's rally on March 15, 1971, at the Central Shaheed Minar, which was led and presided over by poet Sufia Kamal. This photo was published the following day, March 16, in the 'Pakkhik Chitrita' magazine. Another point to note is that in 1952, we did not have this Shaheed Minar. The slogan 'Mothers and sisters, take up arms and free Bangladesh' was not there either. Additionally, the banner on the far right reads, 'Follow Sheikh Mujibur's path, free Bangladesh.'