Kamal`s Ekushey
On February 21, 1952, the Language Movement demanding Bangla as a state language of Pakistan came to a head. The government clamped down Section 144, banning the assembly of four or more persons. Students were determined to violate the order and, since the morning of February 21, started gathering on the campus of the University of Dhaka. When the small groups emerged on to the main road, the police tried to restrain them, initially by a lathi-charge and tear gas and then by shooting. Six people died on the spot. Kamal`s Ekushey narrates the incidents of the day through the eyes of a small boy. Kamal and his friends do not see the actual shooting - though they hear the shots. The significance of the day will remain with Kamal - a point made by Professor Rafiqul Islam in the last sentence of the story added by him. Professor Islam`s photographs of the day have also been used to illustrate the book.
নিয়াজ জামান ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের অবসরপ্রাপ্ত শিক্ষক, একজন লেখক, সম্পাদক, অনুবাদক এবং প্রকাশক। মূলত বড়দের জন্য লেখালেখি করলেও তিনি ছোটদের জন্যও কম লিখেন নি। লোককাহিনীর ইংরেজি অনুবাদ Princess Kalabati and Other Tales, The Cat Who Loved Hats Ges The Boy Who Loved Balloons শিশু-কিশোরদের জন্য লিখিত উল্লেখযোগ্য গ্রন্থ। সাহিত্যে অবদানের জন্য ২০১৩ সালে তিনি অনন্য সাহিত্য পুরস্কার লাভ করেন। (Niaz Zaman, who retired from the University of Dhaka after a long teaching career, is a writer, editor, translator, and publisher. Though she mainly writes adult fiction, she also writes children\'s books. Among her works for children are Princess Kalabati and Other Tales, a translation of Bangla folk tales, The Cat Who Loved Hats and The Boy Who Loved Balloons. She received the Anannya Sahitya Purushkar in 2013 for her contribution to literature.)