The announcement of the recipients of "Bangla Academy Literary Award 2024" has been suspended on Saturday.
A notice, signed Bangla Academy Director General Professor Mohammad Azam, confirmed the development in the evening.
According to the notice, a meeting of "Bangla Academy Literary Award Committee 2024" was held at 6 PM on the same day at Bangla Academy. During the meeting, concerns were raised regarding the current social and political situation, along with allegations against some individuals named in the previously announced list of awardees. The committee concluded that these issues warranted further investigation and a reconsideration of the announced list.
In light of this, the previously announced list has been suspended. The notice stated that the list would be reviewed and a revised version would be published within three working days.
On January 23, Bangla Academy had announced the names of 10 individuals across 10 categories for the 2024 awards. The recipients included Masud Khan (Poetry), Selim Morshed (Fiction), Subhashis Sinha (Drama and Theatrical Literature), Salimullah Khan (Essays), Faruk Nawaz (Children’s Literature), G.H. Habib (Translation), Muhammad Shahjahan Mia (Research), Rezaur Rahman (Science), Mohammad Hannan (Liberation War Literature), and Syed Jamil Ahmed (Folklore).
Interim Government Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki also confirmed the suspension of the announcement in a post on his verified Facebook account.
In his post, Farooki stated, “The announcement of the award recipients has been suspended.” He added that this pause provides an opportunity to address broader issues within the award selection process.
“The peculiar guidelines that enable such questionable and group-centric awards need to be reviewed immediately,” Farooki wrote. “Additionally, the operational principles and policies of Bangla Academy need thorough evaluation. The academy is in dire need of comprehensive reform, just as the nation undergoes necessary changes.”