13 picked for Ekushey Padak

Thirteen distinguished personalities, including poets Rafiq Azad and Asad Chowdhury, have been nominated for the Ekushey Padak-2013 for their outstanding contributions to society and the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will formally hand over the prestigious awards to the persons at Osmani Memorial Auditorium on Feb 20, said an official handout on Thursday.

Ekushey Padak, a national award, was introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Language Movement of 1952.

The recipients of the award are: MA Wadud (posthumous) for the Language Movement, Language Movement veterans Prof Ajit Kumar Guha (posthumous), Prof Mohammad Kamruzzaman (posthumous) and Tafazzal Hossain, freedom fighter Enamul Haque Mostafa Shahid, Nurjahan Murshid (posthumous) in social welfare, Samson H Chowdhury (posthumous) in social welfare, poets Rafiq Azad and Asad Chowdhury in language and literature, Quadri Kibria, Jamaluddin Hossain, Bijoy Krishna Adhikari (known as folk poet Bijoy Sarker) (posthumous) and Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigosthi (leading progressive cultural organisation) in arts.