For the first time, stalls from Bangladesh are missing from Kolkata’s two biggest fairs – the International Kolkata Book Fair and the Bidhannagar Mela Utsav, which is organized by the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Every year since Sheikh Hasina’s government came to power in Bangladesh in 1996, the neighboring country has featured in every edition of the city’s book fair. Hasina herself participated in the fair in 1999 when Bangladesh was the theme country.
In Bangladesh, Begum Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party did not break with tradition even during five years of rule and military rule from 2001 to 2008. Last year, the Bangladesh pavilion was about 2,500 square feet with over 50 stalls each.
Guild President Tridib Chatterjee told The Indian Express, “Given the current geopolitical situation between the two nations: We cannot allot any stalls to Bangladesh unless we get permission from the Ministry of External Affairs. So far, the Ministry has not taken any initiative in this regard.”
Chatterjee said the guild would be responsible for any violation of law and order, such as attacks on stalls in neighboring countries.
In this year’s book fair with 1,000 stalls, countries such as Britain, America, Russia, Iran, Japan, France, Spain, Peru, Italy, Argentina and Colombia are at the center.
Meanwhile, the annual Vidhannagar Mela Utsav held at the Salt Lake Central Park Mela Ground began without any stalls from Bangladesh. Every year, 6-7 stalls of Bangladeshi dhaki and Jamdani sarees are crowded.
According to the sources, the agency managing the stall and pavilion booking in the fair had decided to return the advance money taken by the Bangladeshi businessman. According to the official, the decision was taken to “prevent any untoward incident or law and order situation” in view of the current tension between the two countries. Stalls in countries like Turkey and Afghanistan have been prepared.
BMC sources said asking Bangladeshi traders not to come was a “precautionary step” as their presence “could create problems”.
According to sources in the stall allotment agency, many Bangladeshi national traders are willing to set up stalls and do not want refunds.
Around 500 stalls including a food court and amusement rides have been set up at this time’s Bidhannagar Mela Utsav.
Bangladesh was not represented at the 30th International Film Festival in Kolkata this year due to visa issues. The two-day Bengali Literary Festival at Visva-Bharti University’s Bangladesh Bhavan also saw no participation from Bangladesh this year.
This comes after several Bangladeshi poets and writers were denied visas amid rising political tensions between India and the neighboring country. About 20 poets and writers want to participate in the festival, according to the source of Khowai Sahitya Samiti, the organizer of the event.
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