The more the people of Bangladesh and India would know each other, the closer they would come, overcoming confusion and fear, and literature could play a pivotal role in this regard, eminent educationist and writer Prof Anisuzzaman said yesterday.

He said this after receiving prestigious "Ananda Puraskar-1423", a literary award given by the Anandabazar Patrika, a noted Bangla newspaper published from India's Kolkata.

Anisuzzaman, professor emeritus of Dhaka University, received the award for his autobiography "Bipula Prithibi" (The Vast World). Eminent poet of India's West Bengal Shankha Ghosh handed over the award at a ceremony at a hotel in Kolkata yesterday evening.

“We the people of the two neighboring countries have been maintaining a good relation for years. But some confusion and fear still exist,” Prof Anisuzzaman said. “I think the confusion and fear stem from the ignorance of not knowing each other. Reading literature is the best way to know the people.”

Prof Anisuzzaman received the award for the second time. In 1994, he got the award for publishing a series of 14 cassettes titled "Oitijjher Ongikar" containing Bangla poetry, songs and plays.

Anandabazar Patrika has been giving the award every year since 1958.