Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury spoke at a training workshop at Jatiya Grantha Kendro in Dhaka. Photo : BSS

DHAKA, Aug 17, 2026 (BSS) - Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury today said reading books is immensely important for building a nation enriched with free thinking, humanity, patriotism, and secular values.

He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session of a four-day training workshop on "Enhancing Knowledge and Skills of 
Government Public Librarians" at Jatiya Grantha Kendro in the capital.

The minister said during the tenure of the previous fascist government, attempts were made to deprive the nation of intellectual capacity by putting drugs instead of books into the hands of students and introducing a system of auto pass in various public examinations.

He emphasized building a knowledge-based society by avoiding drugs and developing the habit of reading.

The minister instructed the Jatiya Grantha Kendro authorities to explore ways to bring more private libraries across the country under the registration framework alongside government libraries.

Jatiya Grantha Kendro director Afsana Begum chaired the event while Professor Dr. Muhammad Mesbah-ul-Islam of the Department of Information Science and Library Management at the University of Dhaka attended the event as a special guest.

Earlier, the minister inaugurated the computer lab at Jatiya Grantha Kendro.