Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said that the Bangla language and literature will survive in Bangladesh. There is no digital device in the world on which the Bangla language cannot be written. The world’s 360 million Bengali-speaking people are very active. He said the use of Bangla on digital platforms has doubled in the last decade. Dhaka is now the capital of Bengali language and literature.

The minister opined so while speaking as the chief guest at the distribution of ‘Nagad Rokomari Best Seller Award-2023’ organized by Rokomari.com at Krishibid Institute auditorium in Dhaka on Saturday night.

The Posts and Telecommunications Minister said that the era of paper is over, in the future, there will be the era of digital books. The world is passing through an era of combining physical and digital books.

The minister advised publishers to come forward to publish digital books along with paper books. “Before desktop publishing, lead-typos, then photo-typesetter was the technology of the printing industry in the country. This continuation led to a revolutionary change in the publishing industry. It is a privilege for me that 100 percent of the books published in the country’s papers are printed with the letters I made.

Noting that writers, publishers, and vendors have an important role to play in accelerating the ongoing program to build a smart society through the mix of technology and people, the minister said others should also come forward following the path of reaching books to the readers at home and abroad through digital platforms. Emphasizing the need to publish and sell digital books beyond paper books keeping in mind the business aspect, the minister said there is an opportunity to adopt a strategy to market books and this opportunity should be exploited.

Presided over by Mahmud Hasan Sohag, chairman of Rokomari.com, the function was addressed, among others, by Bangla Academy President Selina Hossain, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University Vice-Chancellor Professor Soumitra Shekhar, fiction writer Professor Anwara Syed Haque and Book Publishers and Sellers Association Vice-President Shamal Pal.

The speakers appreciated the role of the digital platform Rokomari in making it easier for readers to access books. They say this kind of enthusiasm is playing a role in creating readers.

Later, the minister handed over the best-seller awards among the selected writers and publishers.

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