Book Exhibition at Shilpakala Academy (Academy for Arts and Culture)

On 21st February of 1952 a massive procession was taken out, led by the Students Union of Dhaka University and people from all walks of life joined spontaneously to protest against the declaration of Urdu as the sole State language of Pakistan. The police opened fire on the demonstrators when they reached the location of the present Shahid Minar. As a result, five people were killed and several others injured.

Bangladesh is the only country in the world whose people fought for their mother tongue and dedicated their lives to have it recognized as a State language. For the above reason during 1996-97, UNESCO recognized 21st February as the International Mother Language Day.

To commemorate this great day, a Grantha Mela or book fair was started on a small scale in 1974 and it was officially recognized in 1978. After the publishers' and booksellers' organization came together as a cooperative force in organizing the book fair, its popularity increased at a quick pace from 1989. The number of buyers and readers increased in the same manner.

Now the Mela begins on 1st February and continues till the end of the month and it is the most popular fair in Bangladesh.