Dhaka, Jan (V7N)- Despite the passing of the announced three working days, the Bangla Academy has yet to declare the postponed Bangla Academy Literary Award 2024. It has been learned that an executive committee meeting, initially scheduled for Tuesday (January 28) evening, did not take place. Additionally, jury board member Morshed Shafiul Hasan has announced his decision to step down from all responsibilities related to the award.

The controversy surrounding the award has already seen one of the initially announced recipients, fiction writer Selim Morshed, reject the honour. Morshed Shafiul Hasan, a recipient of the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 2017 and a jury member for this year’s selection, stated that he now feels "embarrassed" by the situation.

The academy had originally announced the list of awardees on Thursday (January 23), naming:

  • Masud Khan (Poetry)
  • Selim Morshed (Fiction)
  • Shubhashis Sinha (Drama and Dramatic Literature)
  • Salimullah Khan (Essays and Prose)
  • Faruk Nawaz (Children’s Literature)
  • GH Habib (Translation)
  • Muhammad Shahjahan Mia (Research)
  • Rezaur Rahman (Science)
  • Mohammad Hannan (Liberation War Studies)
  • Syed Jamil Ahmed (Folklore)

However, on Saturday (January 25), the academy suspended the awards following allegations against some of the recipients. The decision sparked protests the following day (January 26), when two groups—Bikshubadh Kavi-Lekhak Samaj and Jatiya Sangskriti Biplob—gathered in front of the Bangla Academy, demanding structural reforms and accountability for those responsible for the so-called "scandal."

With Selim Morshed rejecting the award and a jury member distancing himself from the process, uncertainty continues to loom over the fate of the Bangla Academy Literary Award 2024. The academy has yet to announce a new decision, further fueling controversy in the literary community.

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