Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is such a towering figure of our national history that it is quite natural for authors to keep penning on his life and contributions but our heart bleeds when substandard books on the great leader are written and published.

Book markets are flooded with numerous books on Bangabandhu amid the celebration of Mujib Year on the occasion of his birth centenary. But many of these books carry poor contents and are not written based on thorough research.
Some authors are using Bangabandhu’s name in the title of their books or using his photograph on the cover only to attract book lovers.

While visiting the book markets at Old Town’s Bangla Bazar, Shabagh’s Aziz Super Market and Katabon’s Concord Emporium in the capital, this correspondent has found several poor quality books on Bangabandhu.

A poet named Abu Bakar Mollah has written an enormous book of poetry titled ‘Kabyadharay Bangabandhu’. The book published from Manobadhikar Prokashon consists of a 24,320 line-long poem written on ridiculous rhythm pattern. It describes different incidents of Bangabandhu’s life.

In his foreword, poet Abu Bakar Mollah has written, “I humbly request the honourable Prime Minister to take necessary step for securing a place of my book in the Guinness Book of World Records, recognising it as the national poem and incorporating it in the school syllabus.”

Another author is Syeda Rashida Bari whose book titled ‘Bangladesher Mujib Tumi Bissher Phul’ was published with Bangabandhu’s photo on the cover. Readers have every reason to think that this book is a collection of poems or essays on Bangabandhu.

But to utter surprise, a reader will discover that this book is nothing but a compilation of several thousands of dictums given by the author.
In her foreword, writer Syeda Rashida Bari has claimed that her book is a ‘dictionary of pure knowledge’.

This author has penned two more books titled ‘Shirorotno’ and ‘Gyaner Bhandar’. A portrait of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is used on the cover of ‘Shirorotno’.

‘Bangladesher Mujib Tumi Bissher Phul’ and ‘Shirorotno’ are dedicated to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Sheikh Hasina.

Apart from dedication there is no reason to use their photos on the covers.

The most ridiculous thing is that though these books are different by title and cover, their contents are same. All these three books are published from Pearl Publications!

This kind of books has been confusing library organisers and readers.

Seeking anonymity, headmaster of a girls’ high school of Kishoreganj told the Daily Sun that he was deceived buying books.

He said, “Last month I bought around 60 books worth Tk 10,000 for our school library. I had a list which included books written by Bangabandhu and books written on him by reputed authors.”

“After buying those I took a few more books on Bangabandhu seeing his name and photograph on the cover. I couldn’t go through those books as I was in a bit hurry. But later I found that I was cheated,” he added.

Professor Mesbah Kamal of Department of History at Dhaka University, said, “This is really unfortunate. I advise readers to check books carefully before buying. We need to develop professionalism in the publication industry to avoid such situation.”

There are allegations that a group of opportunist authors and publishers are writing and publishing books on Bangabandhu only to take unethical advantage.

A number of books on Bangabandhu are distorting history by presenting wrong information. But it seems that there is no one to monitor such ill practice.

When asked about such practice, Bangla Academy Director General Habibullah Shiraji, said, “This is surely an odious act. I condemn such practice. Bangla Academy can only give its opinion regarding certain books on request from responsible organisation but we don’t have the authority to punish any author or publisher.”

Exploiting lax monitoring and preventive measures, many people are becoming writers. They are copying some parts or full text written by other authors.

Kamrul Hasan Shayok, Vice-president of Bangladesh Publishers and Book Sellers Association and Managing Director of Panjeree Publications Ltd., said, “There are scarcity of researchers and authors who can produce original and quality books on Bangabandhu. Several hundred books on the great leader are published every year. Publishing of such a huge number of books is quite unusual.”

“The authorities concerned should take proper steps to stop such evil practice. Besides, the government needs to be more careful of selecting and distributing books on Bangabandhu through its various programmes,” he added.