The Academy is located in Dhaka, the capital. It was first established in
the Burdwan House, the official residence of the Chief Minister of the province
in 1952. The people had, in fact, demanded the establishment of the Academy
in this house, for this was the place where recognition of BangIa as a state
language was earlier opposed. The Burdwan House, which still constitutes
a part of the Academy Complex and houses the library of the Academy, is
a historic building itself. Men like Kazi Nazrul Islam, the poet and Dr.
Quazi Motahar Hossain, the statistician and writer of eminence, had lived
here. Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah, linguist and scholar, very widely respected
for his erudition, worked in this building. The building, renovated in 1985
and 1999, currently houses the library and research, compilation and folklore
divisions of the Academy.
The present Academy Complex, which includes the Burdwan House, a cafeteria
building, a warehouse building and a building for its Press, stands on Kazi
Nazrul Islam A venue, across the Suhrawardy Udyan, the largest park in the
city. Close to it, are the Shahid Minar, a memorial tower erected in honour
of the martyrs of the Language Movement, the Dhaka University, the Atomic
Energy Centre, the Post-Graduate Institute of Medicine and Research, the
Institute of Arts and Crafts and the Shishu (children's ) Academy.
Mailing Address:
The Bangla Academy
Burdwan House
3, Kazi Nazrul Islam A venue Dhaka 1000 Bangladesh
Tel: 8619577
Fax: (8802) 8612352
E-mail: bacademy@citechco.net
