The 48th Kolkata International Book Fair will start on January 28 next year. Bangladesh has regularly participated in this fair for the past few decades, but this time it is not in the list of participating countries. According to the announcement of the organizers, Germany will be the main theme country in this year's fair. Germany's rich cultural heritage and literary legacy will be showcased there.
According to a report by Indian media outlet Telegraph India, Bangladesh is absent from the list of participating countries, according to a statement by the Publishers and Booksellers Guild of West Bengal. The statement also said that several Latin American countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy, Spain and publications from the Indian states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra will participate in the fair.
Guild president Tridiv Chatterjee told Indian news agency PTI, 'Bangladesh has regularly participated in this book fair except in 2007 and 2021 when the fair was not held due to special reasons.'
Tridiv Chattopadhyay also said, 'However, the guild cannot take any single decision in the context of the situation that is going on in Bangladesh in the last three months, where visas are not being issued except for medical emergencies. We are awaiting the direction of the Ministry of External Affairs and the State Government of India.'
Apu Dey, another executive member of the guild, said, 'Considering the recent situation in neighboring countries, only the central and state governments can take a decision on this matter. We have not contacted any Bangladeshi publishing house or their organization so far. It will be seen how the situation progresses later.'
In response to the question whether certain booksellers will be allowed to sell books by Bangladeshi authors in the fair, Apu Dey said, 'Only booksellers are not allowed in the fair. They must be publishers.' He also said, 'literary works of popular Bangladeshi writers will be available through stalls of Indian publishers. My own publishing house Dez Publishing will also supply this book.'
Tridiv Chattopadhyay, when asked about the participation of prominent Bangladeshi people in the literature discussion program at the fair, said, 'The situation is not yet clear. The issue of visa is under the central government.
It should be noted that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the 48th book fair. The opening ceremony will be held in Central Park in Salt Lake. Guild officials said, this fair is one of the largest in the world in terms of the number of visitors. The 2024 fair is expected to attract 27 lakh book lovers and sell books worth Rs 23 crore.
