Digital version of books is necessary due to the urgency of the times: Prime Minister OF BD

At the opening ceremony of Amar Ekushey Book Fair, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the digital version of books is also necessary due to the urgency of the times. If every literary work is made into audio version and brought to digital system, readership will increase. He also said that all books of Bengali literature will be translated.

He also said, Bengali is our language, we speak mother tongue. Pakistani rulers took away this right from us. We had to earn this right with fresh blood. He said, our freedom comes from the right of our language. As the benefits of this freedom should be spread, the excellence of the language should also be spread. Reminiscing about the premises of Bangla Academy, the Prime Minister said, I have been coming to the book fair since my school days. After becoming the prime minister, you have to come. I always used Bangla Academy library. It is great to be here today after a long time. He said, Bengali language has a tradition. Let me just say that Bengali language was once tried to be erased. The effort to get the right of Bengali language started in 1948. It was because the Pakistani rulers wanted to impose a foreign language on us. Referring to the fact that the Father of the Nation had organized an international literary fair, he said, "I think Bangla Academy can organize such a special literary fair." Book fairs are now being held in districts. As many books of Bengali literature come out, they will be translated into different languages. We have to do that. Bangla Academy and Mother Language Institute can do this work. Mentioning 'modern era is digital era', the Prime Minister said, we can use digital devices in the field of language and literature practice as well. Our books can be digitized, audio versioned. Many people don't want to read these days. But a phone can also listen through the ear. So the audio version of the book can be done. If we make audio version of every literary work and bring it to digital system, we will get more readership. He said, in today's age no one wants to open a book and read. You should do what you can read while walking. However, I personally think that it is not possible to get the satisfaction of listening in this way, which is the feeling of comfort and relief of turning the pages of a book in hand. After the speech, Prime Minister Amar Ekushe announced the opening of the book fair. Earlier, he unveiled the covers of 7 books published by Bangla Academy and handed over the awards to the winners of 'Bangla Academy Literary Award-2022'.