Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that just as the martyrs of Ekushey are one of the best sons of the nation, so too the eminent personalities of different fields of the country are the pride of the nation. Although real geniuses do not work in the hope of rewards or honors, rewards or honors provide endless inspiration in the path of life, she said.
The Prime Minister said this in a message issued on Friday (February 19) on the occasion of awarding 'Ekushey Padak 2021' on Saturday (February 20).
Sheikh Hasina said, "We are awarding the glorious Ekushey Padak in honor of those who have made great contribution in various fields in the development of art, literature, science and culture of the country and in building an enlightened society with the spirit of Ekushey." Earlier, every year a few number of eminent persons of Bangladesh were awarded the Ekushey Padak in recognition of their unique contribution in their respective fields at the national level and the amount of honorarium of the medal recipients was meager. We have increased the amount of money given as prizes to the eminent persons who have been awarded medals during the tenure of the Awami League government by several points and in 2020 we have increased it to Tk. four lakh. ”
Similarly, the number of recipients of medals has been increased to 21 from 2018, she said, adding, "In recognition of their contribution in various fields of national life, 499 eminent persons and 3 organizations have been awarded Ekushey Padaks till 2020." Once again, we have nominated a total of 21 eminent persons for their role in the language movement, three posthumously, three in the war of liberation, three in language and literature, seven in art and one in journalism, research, education, economics and social service.
The Prime Minister wished peace of mind to those who are receiving the posthumous award and also extended heartfelt congratulations to those who will receive the award tomorrow.
The Prime Minister said, “February has come again, the month of establishing the right to language. The joyous moment of awarding Ekushey Padak in memory of the immortal martyr of the great language movement has come. Ekush means not bowing down, Ekush means a bold step towards the victory of 1971, the establishment of a non-communal, secular and democratic independent state of Bangladesh based on language. ”
The Prime Minister paid deep homage to the memory of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to protect the dignity of our mother tongue Bengali on February 21, 1952. The Prime Minister said, I remember with pride the contributions of the leading language soldiers including Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.’
Sheikh Hasina said, "We have achieved independence in the same spirit in which we have established the right to language. In the last 12 years, we have made tremendous progress in every field of the socio-economic sector of the country, embracing that consciousness and the ideals of the Father of the Nation. '
Referring to the role model of development in the world today, the Prime Minister said, "We are celebrating the year 2020-21. Next month we will celebrate the golden jubilee of independence. We have formulated the Second Perspective Plan for a period of 20 years from 2021-2041 and adopted the 8th Five Year Plan. InshaAllah, soon we will establish 'Sonar Bangladesh', the country of the Father of the Nation's dream of advanced, prosperous, non-communal and free-thinking practice.