News Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over the prestigious “Ekushey Padak-2020” among 20 eminent persons and an organization on the eve of Amar Ekushey and the International Mother Language Day. The prime minister distributed the Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, at a function at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital this morning.

State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid chaired the function organised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

Secretary of the ministry Dr Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal delivered the welcome address, while Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam conducted the award-giving ceremony and read out the citations of the awardees.

Cabinet members, PM’s advisors, judges, parliament members, the chiefs of three armed forces, foreign diplomats, litterateurs, poets, academics, writers, poets, journalists, Ekushey Award laureates of previous years and high civil and military officials attended the function.

This year’s winners of the award are: late Aminul Islam Badsha (posthumous) in Language Movement; Begum Dalia Nawshin, Shankar Roy and Begum Mita Haque in music; Md Golam Mostafa Khan in dance, SM Mohsin in acting, Professor Dr Farida Zaman in fine arts, late Haji Akhter Sardar (posthumous), Abdul Jabbar (posthumous) and late Dr AAM Mesbahul Haque (Bachchu Daktar) (posthumous) in Liberation War; Zafar Wazed (Ali Wazed Zafar) in journalism; Dr Jahanagir Alam and Hafez Kari Allama Syed Mohammad Saifur Rahman Nijami Shah in research; Professor Dr Bikiran Prasad Barua in education; Professor Dr Shamsul Alam in economics; Sufi Mohammad Mizanur Rahman in social service; Dr Nurun Nabi, late Sikder Aminul Haque (posthumous) and Begum Nazmun Nesa Piyari in language and literature, and Professor Dr Sayeba Akhter in medical science.

Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute won the award in research. The ‘Ekushey Award’, the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, was introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Language Movement of 1952.

The award is given to individuals and organizations in recognition of contributions to a number of fields including liberation war, literature, music, education, journalism, poverty reduction, research, and visual arts.

The cultural affairs ministry confers the award with a gold medal, a certificate of honour and cash.

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