Eight including Shah AMS Kibria, Razzak chosen for Independence Award

Late finance minister Shah AMS Kibria, matinee idol of yesteryears Abdur Razzak and Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman are among eight personalities lined up to receive Bangladesh’s highest civilian honour, Independence Award, this year.

The Cabinet Division on Wednesday rolled out the list of the nominees who have been chosen for their contributions to the nation and during the 1971 Liberation War.

Slain during the BNP regime in 2005, Kibria will be conferred with the award posthumously for expressing his allegiance to Bangladesh government and creating pro-liberation opinions in the US when he headed the then Pakistan embassy in Washington in 1971.

Professor Mozaffar Ahmed, the only living member of the war-time Bangladesh government, will also receive the prestigious award.

The NAP chairman had formed a special guerrilla force in 1971 to fight the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators.

Professor Anisuzzaman is being awarded in recognition of his contribution to Bangla literature.

A professor emeritus in Bangla Language and Literature at Dhaka University, he fought for Bangladesh during the War of Independence.

Actor Razzak, fondly called as ‘Nayak Raj’ (king of heroes), is being awarded for his role in the cultural arena.

Late Commandant Manik Chowdhury will receive the honour posthumously for his contributions in conducting the war in Sylhet in 1971.

Apart from organising the freedom fighters, the former MP also fought the war on the front.

The government has selected Mamun Mahmud for the award (posthumous) for his allegiance to the Bangladesh government in 1971 despite being the then Rajshahi range’s deputy inspector general of police.

Pakistani soldiers killed him during the war for helping the freedom fighters.

The award for research and training is going to Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute’s former director general Mohammad Hossain Mandal.

Late journalist Santosh Gupta is being recognised for his contribution to journalism.

Gupta actively joined the War of Independence and all movements against communalism and for democracy.

The government every year names the award recipients ahead of the Independence Day on Mar 26.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hand the awards at a ceremony in Dhaka’s Osmani Memorial auditorium on Mar 25.

The award comes with gold medal, a certificate and Tk 100,000 in cash.