This year, a total of 21 people will receive the Ekushey Padak, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor, in appreciation of their contributions to a variety of professions.
The names were released today by the Cultural Affairs Ministry through a circular that Deputy Secretary Irin Farzana signed.
According to the press release, two individuals were recognized this year for their work in the Language Movement category; further winners included one for documenting the Liberation War, eleven for Shilpakala (acting, music, recitation, arts, and painting), two for social service, one for education, and four for language and literature.
In the Language Movement category, Md. Ashrafuddin Ahmed and the late liberation fighter Hatem Ali Mia have been nominated for the award.
Jalal Uddin Kha (posthumously), Freedom Fighter Kolyani Ghose, Bidit Lal Das (posthumously), Andru Kishore (posthumously) and Shuvra Deb will receive the award in the category of Shilpakala (music) while Shibli Mohammad in Shilpakala (dance), Doly Zahur and MA Alamgir in Shilpakala (acting), Khan Md Mustafa Walid (Shimul Mustafa), Rupa Chakrabarti in Shilpakala (recitation), Shajahan Ahmed Bikash in Shilpakala (painting), Kawsar Chowdhury in Shilpakala (documentation), Md Ziaul Haque and Rafique Ahmed in social service, Muhammad Samad, Luthfur Rahman Ritan, Minar Mansur and Rudra Muhammad Shahidullah (posthumously) (language and literature) and Professor Dr venerable Jinabodhi (education) have been named for the awards.
