Ekushey Book Fair

The Ekushey Book Fair or Amar Ekushe Grantha Melā (Bengali: অমর একুশে গ্রন্থ মেলা, lit. 'Book Fair of immortals of the 21st [of February]' [ɔmɔr ekuʃe grɔnt̪ʰɔ mæla]), popularly known as Ekushey Boi Mela (Bengali: একুশে বই মেলা [ekuʃe bɔi mæla]) is the national book fair of Bangladesh. It is arranged each year by Bangla Academy and takes place for the whole month of February in Dhaka. This event is dedicated to the martyrs who died on 21 February 1952 in a demonstration calling for the establishment of Bengali as one of the state languages of former East Pakistan.

Muktodhara Publishing house started a little sale in front of Bangla Academy in the 21 February 1972, the Shaheed Day, later International Mother Language Day. Chittaranjan Saha of Muktodhara took the initiative. Later, other book publishers joined unofficially. Gradually it became official and the most popular book fair of Bangladesh.

Bangla Academy took over organization of the fair in 1978. In 1984 it was named Amar Ekushey Book Fair. Notably, in 1990s, another national book fair called Dhaka Boi Mela was initiated. This book fair is organized by government in February every year.

Boi Mela started merely as a book fair, it has evolved into a national cultural festival reflecting the cultural spirit of the modern Bengali nation. In addition to book sales, Bangla Academy organizes literary and cultural events every day. Thousands of people gather to purchase books and to spend time in the company of books and their authors with a patriotic zeal. There is no entry fee. Publishers of Bangladesh take year-long preparation to publish a huge number of books during this month. Profit is not the consideration.

...
Wikipedia