PM to Hand Over 'Ekushey Padak 2022' on Feb 20

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hand over the "Ekushey Padak 2022" among 24 eminent persons at a programme at Osmani Memorial Auditorium here on February 20 on the occasion of the Amar Ekushey and the International Mother Language Day.

The premier will hand over the Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence in the city at 10 am.

On February 3, the government announced the names of 24 eminent persons for the "Ekushey Padak 2022" for their outstanding contributions to respective fields.

This year, two persons got the award in the Language Movement category, four in the Liberation War, seven in Shilpakala (art, music and dance), two in Social Service, two in Language and Literature, four in Research and one each in journalism, Science and Technology, and education.

Mostafa MA Matin (posthumous) and Mirza Tofazzal Hossain Mukul (posthumous) won the award in the field of Language Movement.

Valiant freedom fighter Alhaj Principal Md Matiur Rahman, Syed Moazzem Ali (posthumous), QABM Rahman and Amzad Ali Khandaker have been nominated under the category of Liberation War.

Jinat Barkatullah has been nominated for dance; Nazrul Islam Babu (posthumous), Iqbal Ahmed and Mahmudur Rahman Benu for music; Khaled Mahmud Khan (posthumous), Afzal Hossain and Masum Aziz for acting.

MA Malek won the award for journalism while Md Anawar Hossain won in science and technology and Professor Dr Gautam Buddha Das won in education.

SM Abraham Lincoln and Sangharaj Gyanshree Mahather have been nominated in the social service category.

Poet Kamal Chowdhury and Jharna Das Purkayastha won the award in language and literature category.

Dr Md Abdus Sattar Mandal, Dr Md Enamul Haque (team leader), Dr Shahanaz Sultana (team) and Dr Jannatul Ferdous (team) have been nominated under the research category.

The nation is set to observe the "Amar Ekushey and the International Mother Language Day" on February 21 to pay glowing tributes to the Language Movement martyrs who made supreme sacrifice for the cause of the mother language on this day in 1952.