The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has urged all to spread the spirit of Amar Ekushey (21st February) among the young generation to build a happy and prosperous technology-based Bangladesh.
She gave the call from a function, marking the distribution of Ekushey Padak for 2011, at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium on Sunday.
The information and cultural affairs minister, Abul Kalam Azad, presided over the function, organised by the cultural affairs ministry.
The state minister for cultural affairs, Promode Mankin, was the special guest at programme, which was conducted by the cabinet secretary, M Abdul Aziz.
Thirteen eminent personalities have been awarded Ekushey Padak this year in recognition of their outstanding contributions in different spheres of national life.
The recipients are Shawkat Ali (posthumous-language movement), Mosharef Uddin Ahmed (posthumous-language movement), Ustad Akther Sadmani (posthumous-arts), Abdul Haq Chowdhury (posthumous-research), Amanul Haq (language movement).
They are joined by Baul Shah Abdul Karim (posthumous-arts), Jyotsna Biswas (arts), Nurjahan Begum (journalism) Md Abul Hashem (social service), Md Hares Uddin Polan Sarker (social service), Mohammed Delwar Hossain (social service), Shahid Qadri (language and literature), and Abdul Haq (language and literature).
Besides the citation, each recipient got Tk 100,000 and a gold-medal weighing three tolas.
The prime minister in his speech said the Language Movement in 1952 was not merely a movement to establish Bangla as the national language, ‘rather it was a movement to establish self-identity of the Bangalees and to protect it.’
She mentioned that Amar Ekushey taught the nation to protest and build resistance against injustice.
Hasina said militancy, extremism and terrorism would never find a place among the Bangalees as long as the spirit of Amar Ekushey remained in their hearts.
Terming the mother language the main medium of learning, she said: It is possible to provide proper education through mother tongue.’
The prime minister underscored ensuring the practice of mother language in all sectors of life. ‘We want to establish a knowledge-based, moderate, peaceful and tolerant society through spreading the Bangla language, literature and culture,’ she said.
She said Ekushey had now turned into the icon of Bangalee nationalism, and secular and non-communal status of the nation. ‘Ekushey showed us the path to 1971 when the nation got an independent country.’
Hasina recalled the contributions of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in achieving the independence of Bangladesh.
She expressed the hope that by 2021, the silver jubilee year of independence, it would be possible to establish a happy, prosperous, non-communal and peaceful ‘Sonar Bangla’ (golden Bengal), which was the dream of Sheikh Mujib.
Courtesy of UNB via New Age
