The sale of a book by Adarsha Prakashani has increased ten times after the Bangla Academy authorities announced reservations towards the writer and decided not to give the publisher a stall at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair that starts today.
Different institutions participating in the book fair have already prepared their stalls. However, Adarsha Prakashani was not allotted a stall though publisher Mahabubur Rahman later deciding not to sell the book at the fair.
The book in question, titled Bangalir Mediocrityr Sondhane (In Search of Bengalis' Mediocrity), is written by Faham Abdus Salam, the son-in-law of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
“Many people had not read Faham Abdus Salam's book Bangalir Mediocrityr Sondhane before. But after the Bangla Academy decision, sales rose tenfold,” he said.
“A quarter is trying to impose a ban on the book as well. And if that happens, another group may circulate the PDF copy of the book on the internet, which will hurt our revenue generation,” the publisher said.
“From my experience, I feel that those buying the book will also lend it to their friends. This means that the actual readership is two-three times more,” he added.
When asked whether the demand for the book had increased through a controversy, senior journalist Syed Ishtiaq Reza said that negative marketing often works in the case of sales. “By denying them a stall and starting a new topic, the demand for the book has been increased. Nobody may have heard the name of this writer before. But now it's on everyone's lips,” he said.
Barrister Aneek R Haque observed that Bangla Academy can take measures against the people concerned as per the stall allotment regulation if banned books or those that may provoke unrest are sold at any store. But they cannot deny a stall to a publishing house even before the fair begins.
The publishing house has been punished for a book that is not even banned, which is unprecedented and unfair, he said.
On January 12, Bangla Academy published a list of publishing houses to get stalls at the fair. But Adarsha Prakashani was not allotted a stall, following which the publishing house spoke to several officials of the Bangla Academy but could not get a clear answer on why they would not get a stall.
Asked whether the authorities could have held direct talks with Adarsha in this regard, Dr KM Mujahidul Islam, member secretary of the fair organizing committee, said: “I spoke to him in person. It is the first fair under my management. I did not want such an incident to take place.”
Publisher Mahabub said according to clause 14.14 of the Book Fair 2023 regulations, books that are harmful cannot be marketed or sold at the fair. “But you (Bangla Academy) denied me a stall even before February arrived. Now, on what basis was my stall canceled?”
Asked whether Bangla Academy informs a publisher whether the house will be allocated a stall at the fair or not, Ramendu Majumdar, a member of the organizing committee, said the list tells which publishing houses are participating in the fair and which are not.
In a Facebook status, publisher Mahabub alleged that Tariqul Islam Rony, the publisher of Tamralipi Prakashani, and Shahadat Hossain, publisher of Annesha, were among those who had flagged the book to Bangla Academy.
Mahabub had brought similar allegations against Tamralipi indirectly in 2019 when his publishing house was denied a stall at the fair.
He claimed that a member of the fair organizing committee leaked the information to him that Rony and Shahadat had brought the book to the Bangla Academy officials.
Rony, however, did not want to comment on the matter, while Shahadat did not respond to calls or text messages.
Osman Gani, an advisor to Bangladesh Publishers and Book Sellers Association, said it is unfortunate that one publishing house will accuse another of such a conspiracy.
On the issue of whether talks could have been held with Adarsha before denying a stall to it, Gani said Bangla Academy called the publisher at first, but he did not want to participate in the fair without the particular book and two other books published from his house.
However, after the official stall allocation, Mahabubur applied again on January 24 for stall allocation on the condition of not keeping the “controversial” book in the stall and following the rules of the book fair. But Bangla Academy informed him that Adarsha was not getting a stall this time.
According to unconfirmed sources, the Bangla Academy authorities also raised objections against two other books – one by Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb and the other by Zia Hassan.
KM Mujahidul Islam said that they maintained the rules and informed Adarsha that a stall cannot be allocated to the house as time ran out this year. “Some 31 members, at a meeting, decided against allocating a stall to Adarsha this year,” he said.
Ramendu Majumdar said: “When at first objections were raised, he (the publisher) did not agree. He issued a letter on January 24, but he again questioned the regulations…but then there was no way to allocate a stall.”
Publishers' association Vice President Shyamal Pal said they tried for the publishing house's inclusion at the fair but Mahbub at the time continued with his “activism”. “We could not raise our voice loudly when issues such as anti-Liberation War or demeaning Bangabandhu or the PM are raised,” he said.
The association has issued a letter to Adarsha asking it not to sell the book in question at Kolkata Book Fair.
Shyamal Pal said: “The book may create controversies in Kolkata at a time when there is so much talk about it. This may even trigger the authorities to cancel Bangladesh's participation in the fair. That's why we issued the letter.”
