DU Correspondent :
Around the annual general meeting, Bangla Academy premises turned into a gathering of guests and various events.
Fellows, life members and ordinary members of Bangla Academy living in the country and abroad came to the academy premises on Saturday.
The premises became noisy with the gathering of eminent people. They exchanged greetings with each other, inquired about each other’s news, and engaged in various conversations.
The meeting began with the national anthem performed by the cultural organization ‘Surbihar’ led by artist Anima Roy, followed by the hoisting of the national flag and the Bangla Academy flag.
After that, after reading from religious scriptures, a condolence message was read in memory of the eminent people of various fields of the country who passed away in the year since the last general meeting and a minute’s silence was observed in the ceremony to honor their memory.
Then, in the main event of the meeting, Bangla Academy Director General Professor Mohammad Azam presented the annual report for the fiscal year 2024-2025 and Academy Secretary Dr. Md. Selim Reza informed about the budget for the fiscal year 2025-2026. Bangla Academy President Professor Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque presided over the meeting. The general members of the academy participated in the discussion on the annual report and budget.
While presenting the annual report, Professor Mohammad Azam said, Bangla Academy was established with a historic intention. It can be understood from the huge demand of the people surrounding the academy over the course of seven decades – your love for this institution is not lacking, nor is your expectation. We have always been working to ensure the highest service in the intellectual and cultural sphere within our limited means, keeping in mind the existing reality of the country.
He said, in recent times, we have received an attempt to evaluate the most recent research and talent from all over the country through multiple research projects and scholarships.
The academy has made huge qualitative changes in the infrastructure and publishing sector, including the establishment of a separate corner for writers, the digitization of the library, and the establishment of a national institution. It is hoped that with the efforts of all of us, Bangla Academy will truly become a symbol of the nation’s thinking.
Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque, as President, said, Bangla Academy completed seven decades of its establishment in December this year. Over the course of seventy years, the academy has completed extraordinary research work, and has also built a future homeland by capturing our intellectual excitement.
The hopes of the common people around the academy are endless, but our capabilities are limited. However, we hope that with the joint efforts of all, we will be able to develop Bangla Academy as a more people-friendly institution, said he.
The minutes of the 47th Annual General Meeting held on December 28, 2024 were approved with the consent of the fellows, life members and members of the academy from all over the country. In recognition of their important contributions to various fields of the country, 7 distinguished individuals were awarded the Bangla Academy Honorary Fellowship 2025 and 8 awards administered by the Bangla Academy – Writer Mohammad Barkatullah Essay Award 2025, Meher Kabir Science Literature Award 2025, Mazharul Islam Poetry Award 2025, Sa’dat Ali Akhand Literature Award 2025, Professor Momtazuddin Ahmed Natyajan Award 2025, Abu Rushd Literature Award 2025, Halima-Sharfuddin Science Award 2025 and Rabeya Khatun Fiction Award 2025.
The recipients of the ‘Bangla Academy Honorary Fellowship 2025’ are Philip Gain (Journalism), Mahbub Ullah (Economics), Samar Majumdar (Arts), Parveen Hasan (History), Marina Tabassum (Arts), Motendra Mankhin (Literature) and Bijan Kumar Shil (Science).
The Bangla Academy awardees are: Professor Mansur Musa for the ‘Sahitya Mohammad Barkatullah Award 2025’ in essay writing, Khasru Chowdhury for the ‘Meher Kabir Science Literature Award 2025’, Sanaul Haque Khan for the ‘Mazharul Islam Poetry Award 2025’, Hafiz Rashid Khan for the ‘Sa’dat Ali Akhand Literature Award 2025’, Tariq Anam Khan for the ‘Professor Momtazuddin Ahmed Natyajan Award 2025’, Shibbrata Barman for the ‘Abu Rushd Literature Award 2025’, Shafiq Islam for the ‘Halima-Sharfuddin Science Award 2025’, Subrata Barua and Anisur Rahman were awarded the ‘Rabeya Khatun Literature Award 2025’.
The awardees and fellowship recipients received the prize money, certificates, Academy President Professor Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque and Director General Professor Mohammad Azam presented the awards, mementos and floral greetings.
