Terming poverty as the main enemy of this region, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called upon writers and litterateurs to work together to build a poverty-free peaceful South Asia.
“Whether it is politics or literature, all is directed towards improving the living standard of the citizens. I frequently mention that the main problem of this region is poverty. We have to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty,” Hasina said while inaugurating the SAARC Literary Festival at the National Museum in the capital yesterday.
The prime minister said she believed that if the SAARC nations worked together, they would be able to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty at the earliest.
To achieve the goal, a close connectivity would have to be built among the people of this region, she said.
“We, the politicians and the people of the literary arena can work together in this field. I think the people of the cultural arena can contribute more in building fraternity among people and nations as literature and culture do not abide by geographical boundaries,” Hasina said in her speech.
The PM added that the connectivity among people could eradicate differences, inequality and darkness.
The WRITE Foundation, the Bangladesh chapter of the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature, has organised the two-day festival with the theme, “Beyond Borders: Towards Trust and Reconciliation”.
Some 30 authors of international repute from Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as 38 from host Bangladesh are participating in the festival, the organisers said.
WRITE Foundation president Selina Hossain delivered the welcome address, while its general secretary Rubana Huq gave the vote of thanks.
Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, writer Syed Shamsul Haque and president of the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature Ajeet Cour also addressed the function.
Hasina also said the SAARC countries were interlinked in respect of history, tradition, literature, culture and language.
“The geographical boundaries separate the people, but their mindsets and hopes and aspirations are identical,” she said.
The PM said not only the educated, but self-taught bauls (folk singers) and bards of this soil have enriched the country’s literature and songs.
“The potters, blacksmiths and carpenters are also creative artists of Bangladesh,” Hasina said.
She said singers and composers like Fakir Lalon Shah, Siraj Sai, Shah Abdul Karim and Radha Raman Dutta have all sharpened the realm of our imagination and enlightened our hearts and souls with their music.
Hasina also said poet Alaol, Abdul Hakim, Ishwarchandra Bidyasagar, Michael Madhusudhan Dutta, Bankim Chandra, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Jasimuddin, Jibabnananda Das and Shamsur Rahman have enriched Bangla language and literature through their works.
