Bangladesh
Ekushey Padak PM Hasina confers Ekushey Padak to 21 eminent citizens
Dhaka, Feb 20: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday (February 20) conferred the Ekushey Padak, Bangladesh's second highest civilian award, to 21 distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding contributions in various fields.
She presented the Ekushey Padak award in a ceremony at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka.
Ministry of Cultural Affairs organized this event on the occasion of International Mother Language Day 2024.
Among the awardees were Ashraf Uddin Ahmed (posthumously) and freedom fighter Hatem Ali Mia (posthumously) for their role in the language movement.
Besides, Jalal Uddin Kha (posthumous), freedom fighter Kalyani Ghosh, Vidit Lal Das (posthumous), Andrew Kishore (posthumous) and Shubhra Dev were recognized for their contribution to music and Shibli Mohammad, Dolly Jahur and MA Alamgir for dance and acting respectively.
Popular elocutionists Shimul Mustafa and Rupa Chakraborty were also awarded Ekushey Padak.
Shahjahan Ahmed Bikas and Kawsar Chowdhury were awarded for their contributions to War of Liberation painting and documentaries.
Md. Ziaul Haque and Rafiq Ahmed were awarded for social services.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Samad, Lutfar Rahman Riton, Minar Mansoor and Rudra Mohammad Shahidullah for their contribution to language and literature and Jinbodhi Bhikshu received the Ekushey Padak for their contribution to education.
Culture Affairs Secretary Khalil Ahmed presided over the award distribution ceremony. Cabinet Secretary Md. Mahbub Hossain conducted the programme and read out the certificates of the awardees.
