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Book publishers from Bangladesh look uncertainty implicit information successful the 49th Kolkata International Book Fair successful 2026 owed to the lack of clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs. Bangladesh had besides not participated successful the 2025 edition, contempt being 1 of the fair’s astir accordant participants implicit its 49-year history.
“They did not get stalls adjacent past year. The concern has been delicate and unrestful successful Bangladesh. We arsenic organisers are not successful a presumption to springiness retired stalls to publishers from Bangladesh until the Government of India gives the greenish signal,” Tridib Chatterjee, wide caput of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, told The Hindu on Saturday (December 27, 2025).
As the concern successful Bangladesh continues to stay tense, information by its publishers successful the Kolkata Book Fair, with which they person agelong shared adjacent ties, remains uncertain. Owing to a shared connection and taste affinity, West Bengal and Bangladesh person historically enjoyed a communal readership and beardown publishing links.
According to sources, respective elder figures from the Bangladeshi publishing manufacture person sought stalls for the upcoming edition. However, guild officials said that information by planetary publishers requires clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs, and without specified approval, the organisers cannot let Bangladesh to instrumentality portion successful the fair.
This would people lone the 2nd lawsuit successful the past of the lawsuit that Bangladesh volition not participate, excluding the 2 years erstwhile the just was not held.
This year, Argentina has been selected arsenic the taxable country.
In 2022, Bangladesh was fixed peculiar absorption astatine the International Kolkata Book Fair to people the 50th day of the Liberation War. Typically, astir 45 publishers from Bangladesh enactment successful the yearly event.
Guild officials, however, said they stay assured that the lack of Bangladeshi publishers volition not importantly impact publication sales.
The publication just will take place between January 22 to February 3, 2026, astatine the Boimela Prangan, Karunamoyee, Salt Lake. The just volition beryllium inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in presence of authors, artists, scholars, and poets.
