Bangla Academy

The Bangla Academy hosts the annual Ekushey Book Fair.

• Name — Bangla Academy • Native Name — বাংলা একাডেমি • Abbreviation — BA • Named After — Académie Française • Type — Autonomous institution • Status — Language regulator • Purpose — Research, publication and translation related to the Bengali language, literature and culture • Headquarters — Burdwan House • Location — Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Dhaka, Bangladesh • Region Served — Bangladesh • Language — Bengali • Leader Title — Director General • Leader Name — Mohammad Azam • Leader Title2 — President • Leader Name2 — Vacant • Parent Organization — Ministry of Cultural Affairs • Funding — Government of Bangladesh • Website — banglaacademy.gov.bd

• Illustration — Moder Gorob, depicting the language movement martyrs, is one of the features of Bangla Academy. The importance of establishing an organisation for Bengali language was first emphasised by the linguist Muhammad Shahidullah. Later, following the Language movement, on 27 April 1952, the All Party National Language Committee decided to demand the establishment of an organisation 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, also known as Burdwan House, for establishing a research center for the Bengali language". The building was the official residence of the Chief Minister of East Pakistan, Nurul Amin during the Language movement and part of the University of Dhaka before that. 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 3 December 1955, the Chief Minister of East Bengal, Abu Hussain Sarkar, inaugurated the institute. Barkatullah acted as the Special Officer in charge. In 1956, Muhammad Enamul Haque took over as the first director. In 1957, an act of the parliament formally established the funding source and the Government support for the institute. 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. The publication division was established in early 1957; the research, culture and library divisions and translation division were set in 1958 and 1961 respectively. After the independence of Bangladesh, the director's position was renamed Director General. Mazharul Islam, head of Bangla Department of Rajshahi University, was the first Director General of the institute. On 19 September 2008, a new 8-storey building, containing a 500-capacity auditorium and a 100-capacity seminar room, opened next to the main building.

The functions and structure of the institute were devised on the model of the French Academy.

• Research, compilation and folklore • Language, literature, culture and publication • Textbook • Planning and training

The main task of the academy is to conduct research on Bengali language, culture, and history, and to publish Bengali literary and research work. 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. It was introduced by former director general Monzur-I-Mowla in 1979.

• Years — President — Profession • 1961–1961 — Mohammad Akram Khan — Journalist and politician • 1962–1963 — Mohammad Barkatullah — Writer • 1964–1965 — Muhammad Qudrat-i-Khuda — Educationist • 1969–1971 — Syed Murtaza Ali — Writer and historian • 1972–1974 — Zainul Abedin — Painter • 1975–1977 — Syed Murtaza Ali • 1977–1979 — Syed Ali Ahsan — Poet and educator • 1980–1982 — Abdul Haque Faridi — Islamic scholar • 1982–1983 — Abu Mohammed Habibullah • 1986–1990 — Abdullah-Al-Muti — Educationist • 1990–1992 — Gazi Shamsur Rahman — Lawyer • 1993–1994 — Abdur Rahman Chowdhury — Justice • 1994–1996 — Gazi Shamsur Rahman • 1996–1999 — Shamsur Rahman — Poet • 1999–2002 — Anisuzzaman • 2002–2006 — Wakil Ahmed • 2007–2009 — M Harunur Rashid • 2009–2011 — Kabir Chowdhury • 2011–2020 — Anisuzzaman • 2020–2021 — Shamsuzzaman Khan — Folklorist • 2021–2021 — Rafiqul Islam • 2022–2024 — Selina Hossain — Novelist • 2024–2026 — Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq — Educationist

Bangla Academy confers the following awards annually or biennially.

This award is the recognition of research of Rabindra literature and lifelong pursuit of Rabindra music since 2010. • 2010 – Kalim Sharafi and Sanjida Khatun • 2011 – Ahmed Rafiq and Ajit Roy • 2012 – Anisur Rahman, Fahmida Khatun and Iffat Ara Dewan • 2013 – Karunamaya Goswami and Papia Sarwar • 2014 – Manzoore Mawla and Rezwana Chowdhury Bannya • 2015 – Sanat Kumar Saha and Sadi Mohammad • 2016 – Syed Akram Hossain and Tapan Mahmud • 2017 – Hayat Mamud and Mita Haque • 2018 – Abul Momen and Fahim Hossain Chowdhury • 2019 – Safiuddin Ahmed, Begum Akhtar Kamal, and Iqbal Ahmed • 2020 – Sadhan Ghosh • 2021 – Atiur Rahman • 2022 – Siddika Mahmuda • 2023 – Sheela Momen • 2024 – Bhishmadev Chowdhury and Laisa Ahmed

This award is conferred to the Bangladeshi poets since 2010.

This is a literature award commemorating the writer S'adat Ali Akhand.

• 2004 – Ekhlasuddin Ahmed • 2006 – Anwara Syed Haq • 2008 – Foyez Ahmad • 2010 – Sukumar Barua • 2013 – Mahmudullah • 2015 – Akhtar Hossain • 2017 – Hayat Mamud • 2020 – Shahriar Kabir • 2022 – Sirajul Farid

Bangla Academy has been conferring Meher Kabir Science Literature Award bi-annually since 2005 commemorating Meher Kabir (1919–2018), an academic and a litterateur. This award recognizes overall contribution of notable writers in science literature. The prize money of Tk 1,00,000, a certificate and a memento are presented to the award-winning writer in the annual general meeting of Bangla Academy. The initial fund was provided by National Professor Kabir Chowdhury, also the husband of Meher Kabir. • 2005 – Kazi Zakir Hossain • 2007 – Muhammad Ibrahim • 2012 – A. M. Harun-ar-Rashid • 2014 – Ajoy Roy • 2017 – Ali Asgar (scientist) • 2019 – Shishir Kumar Bhattacharjee • 2021 – Enam Ul Haque • 2023 – ABM Abdullah • 2025 – Khosru Chowdhury

Bangla Academy confers this award commemorating the writer Syed Waliullah. The award consists of a certificate, a crest of honour and Tk 50,000. The award was formally called "Bangla Academy Probashi Lekhak Award" (lit: Bangla Academy Expatriate Writer Award). • 2014 – Iqbal Hasan and Syed Iqbal • 2015 – Manju Islam and Fras Bhattacharya • 2016 – Shamim Azad and Nazmun Nesa Peyari • 2017 – Masud Khan and Mujib Irm

• 2017 – Ahmed Rafiq • 2018 – Sirajul Islam Chowdhury • 2019 – Farhad Khan • 2020 – Rafique Kaisar • 2021 – Sirajul Islam • 2022 – Razia Sultana • 2023 – Anupam Sen • 2025 – Mansur Musa

Bangla Academy introduced this biennial literary award in 2019. The winner receives Tk 2,00,000 and a crest as part of the award. • 2019 – Nirmalendu Goon • 2021 – Ahmed Rafiq • 2023 – Mohammad Rafiq

This award was introduced in 2021 as a tribute to academic and writer Abu Rushd Matinuddin to recognize Bangladeshi authors. • 2021 – Anwara Syed Haq and Wasi Ahmed • 2023 – Mohammad Harun-Ur-Rashid • 2025 – Shibabrata Barman

• 2022 – Jyoti Prakash and Swakrita Noman • 2025 – Subrata Barua and Anisur Rahman

As of 2022, there are 193 persons made honorary fellows by the academy.