| Bangla Academy | |
| Native Name: | Bengali: বাংলা একাডেমি |
| Native Name Lang: | bn |
| Abbreviation: | BA |
| Pronounce: | pronounced as /bn/ |
| Named After: | Académie Française |
| Founders: | --> |
| Defunct: | --> |
| Type: | Autonomous institution |
| Vat Id: | (for European organizations) --> |
| Status: | Language regulator |
| Purpose: | Research, publication and translation related to the Bengali language, literature and culture |
| Headquarters: | Burdwan House |
| Location City: | Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Dhaka |
| Location Country: | Bangladesh |
| Area Served: | or |
| Region: | --> |
| Product: | --> |
| Method: | --> |
| Field: | --> |
| Language: | Bengali |
| Owners: | --> |
| Leader Title: | Director General |
| Leader Name: | Mohammad Azam[1] |
| Leader Title2: | President |
| Leader Name2: | Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq[2] |
| Publication: | --> |
| Parent Organization: | Ministry of Cultural Affairs |
| Funding: | Government of Bangladesh |
| Former Name: | --> |
The Bangla Academy (bn|বাংলা একাডেমি, pronounced as /bn/) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in Bangladesh. It is an autonomous institution funded by the Government of Bangladesh that fosters the Bengali language, literature and culture, works to develop and implement national language policy and conducts original research in Bengali. Established in 1955, it is located in the Burdwan House in Shahbagh, Dhaka, within the grounds of the University of Dhaka and Suhrawardy Udyan. The Bangla Academy hosts the annual Ekushey Book Fair.
The importance of establishing an organisation for Bengali language was first emphasised by the linguist Muhammad Shahidullah.[3] [4] Later, following the Language movement, on 27 April 1952, the All Party National Language Committee decided to demand 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".[5] 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.[6] 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. Later, in 1956, Muhammad Enamul Haque took over as the first director.[7]
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.[8]
After the independence of Bangladesh, the director's position was renamed Director General.[7] Mazharul Islam, head of Bangla Department of Rajshahi University, was the first Director General of the institute.[9] 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.
The functions and structure of the institute were devised on the model of the French Academy.[7]
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 recent years, Bangla Academy has been widely criticized for allowing different organizations to arrange events in English and denigrating Bengali in the premise of Bangla Academy, which is a violation of visions of the institution.[10] "The Academy has misused a lot of funds in producing useless books, books that are unoriginal," opines Salimullah Khan.[11] Khan is of the opinion that the academy is short on original publications long on dross. He believes that both in research and in the field of creative writing, originality must be given priority. He also adds that most of the problems lie in the process of selection. The selection process the crucial decision to ditch one manuscript to pick another that will be added to the long list of academy publications, is faulty and in dire need of revision.
Bangla Academy confers the following awards annually or biennially.[12]
See main article: Bangla Academy Literary Award.
This award is the recognition of research of Rabindra literature and lifelong pursuit of Rabindra music since 2010.[13]
See main article: Mazharul Islam Poetry Award. This award is conferred to the Bangladeshi poets since 2010.[20]
This is a literature award commemorating writer S'adat Ali Akhand.
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.
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).[24]
Bangla Academy introduced this biennial literary award in 2019. The winner receives Tk 2,00,000 and a crest as part of the award.[25]
| Years | President | Profession | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961–1961 | Journalist and politician | ||
| 1962–1963 | Writer | ||
| 1964–1965 | Educationist | ||
| 1969–1971 | Writer and historian | ||
| 1972–1974 | Painter | ||
| 1975–1977 | |||
| 1977–1979 | Poet and educator | ||
| 1980–1982 | Abdul Haque Faridi | Islamic scholar | |
| 1982–1983 | Abu Mohammed Habibullah | ||
| 1986–1990 | Educationist | ||
| 1990–1992 | Lawyer | ||
| 1993–1994 | Abdur Rahman Chowdhury | Justice | |
| 1994–1996 | |||
| 1996–1999 | Poet | ||
| 1999–2002 | |||
| 2002–2006 | |||
| 2007–2009 | |||
| 2009–2011 | |||
| 2011–2020 | Anisuzzaman[28] | ||
| 2020–2021 | Shamsuzzaman Khan[29] | Folklorist | |
| 2021–2021 | Rafiqul Islam[30] | ||
| 2022–2024 | Selina Hossain[31] | Novelist | |
| 2024- | Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq[32] | Educationist |
As of 2022, there are 193 persons made Honorary Fellows by the academy.[33]