Jatiyo Sahitto Odhidaptor Bastabayan Parishad (the council for implementing the National Literature Department formation) has urged the interim government to form a separate department named ‘National Literature Department.’
The council has suggested renaming the Cultural Affairs Ministry as the Literature and Cultural Affairs Ministry, and opening the new literature department under the ministry for the sake of Bangla language, literature and culture.
Leaders of the organization, a national platform of poets and writers, made the call at a press conference at hotel Royal Palace in the capital’s Topkhana Road on Saturday.
Poet and novelist Kazi Sabbir, chief coordinator of council, read out a written statement, while poet Nandini Luiza, its advisor, chaired the event.
With a slogan ‘Let literature be a tool of building our society,’ they called for preparing a list of writers at the grassroots level and giving them the state recognition.
They also urged for taking steps to free the institutions such as Bangla Academy, Shilpakala Academy and the National Library from the clutches of political influence.
Besides, they asked for taking necessary steps to update the controversial ‘Cyber Security Act-2023.’
Dr Taimur Alam Khandaker, senior writer and advisor of the organization, advisers Prof ATM Rezaul Hoque, Prof Sandipok Mallik, poet Atik Helal, Ruby Shamsun Nahar, SAK Rezaul Karim, Mili Haque, Sheikh Iqbal Hasan Swapon, and coordinators Jesmin Dipa and Shamima Rosy also spoke on the occasion.
