List of Bangla Academy Literary Award suspended
Staff Reporter :
The list of names announced for the ‘Bangla Academy Literary Award 2024’ has been put on hold.
Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki confirmed the decision in a post on his verified Facebook page on Saturday night.
The fresh announcement comes just two days after the Bangla Academy announced the names of ten individuals for the award.
Explaining the decision further, he added that “It is also important to note that the flawed policies enabling such questionable and clique-driven awards need urgent review. Our first task is to reassess them. We also need to examine how Bangla Academy is run and what policies guide it. We are now moving towards a complete overhaul of the academy.”
When contacted, Professor Mohammad Azam, Director General of Bangla Academy, told the media that “It has been suspended due to a special situation. A clarification has also been provided on Bangla Academy’s website.”
Earlier, on January 23, Bangla Academy announced the ”Bangla Academy Literary Award- 2024” for ten poet and writers.
They are: Salimullah Khan was named as best essay writer, Masud Khan for poetry, Selim Morshed as best fiction writer, Subhasish Sinha in drama, Faruk Newaz in children’s literature category, and GH Habib was recognised as the best transcript writer, Muhammad Shahjahan Mia was recognised in research category, Rezaur Rahman in Science category, Mohamamd Hannan in Liberation War category and Syed Jamil Ahmed in folklore category.