Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said the current government will work to establish a liberal democratic state system with moral standards and dignity so that the country can move forward in all branches of knowledge and science, including education, literature, arts, science and technology.
"I believe that politicising education, research, arts and literature is never a sign of a civilised society," he said.
Tarique Rahman made the remarks while addressing the Ekushey Padak-2026 distribution ceremony at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka on Thursday morning.
"The current democratic government will work to establish a liberal democratic state system with moral standards and dignity so that the country can move forward in all branches of knowledge and science, including education, literature, arts, science and technology," he said.
In this journey, guidance from the country's distinguished individuals is highly expected, the premier added.
Although politicians are entrusted with the responsibility of running the state, he said that as a political worker he believed that learned and distinguished individuals play a guiding role.
The greater the number of accomplished people in a state and society, the more enlightened that society becomes in terms of prosperity and moral standards, the premier added.
Therefore, the state honors learned and distinguished individuals for its own need, he said, adding, from this realization, the proclaimer of independence Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman had introduced the Ekushey Padak for the first time in independent Bangladesh.
Noting that the Ekushey Padak is not merely a medal, the Prime Minister said through this award, from the 1952 Language Movement to the present, the historical events of Bangladesh are remembered.
At the same time, it introduces the general public to those distinguished individuals who have enriched themselves, the state and society through education, literature, arts, research and practice, he added.
Stating that the journey of the Ekushey Padak as a state honor began in 1976 with awards in three fields, Tarique Rahman said at present, the award is given in at least 12 fields for special contributions to different fields, including Language Movement, Liberation War, education, research, arts, science and technology.
He described this as a positive achievement and expressed the hope that the practice of knowledge, science and literature would become more refined and developed.
The state and government, the premier said, will certainly fulfil their responsibilities to further accelerate the advancement of education, research and the practice of arts and literature.
Earlier, Tarique Rahman arrived at the venue at Osmani Memorial Auditorium around 10:53am on foot from his Cabinet Division office in the Secretariat. The ceremony organized by the Cultural Affairs Ministry began with singing the national anthem and recitation of religious scripts.
Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury presided over the function while Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani conducted the award giving ceremony and read out the citation of the awardees.
State Minister Ali Newaz Mahmud Khaiyam spoke as the special guest while Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Mofidur Rahman delivered the welcome speech at the function.
Cabinet members, members of parliaments, diplomats, senior civil and military officials and dignitaries were present at the function.
This year, the government conferred the Ekushey Padak to nine individuals and one music band in recognition of their outstanding contributions to various fields.
The award recipients are: Farida Akhtar Babita (Film), Professor Md Abdus Sattar (Fine Arts), Marina Tabassum (Architecture), Ayub Bachchu (Music) (Posthumous), Arthy Ahmed (Dance), Islam Uddin Palakar (Palagan), Shafik Rehman (Journalism), Professor Dr Mahbubul Alam Majumdar (Education), Tejosh Haldar Josh (Sculpture), and Warfaze (Music Band).
Turning to the international Mother Language Day on February 21, Tarique Rahman said, "The importance of the month of February in our national history is immense. And February 21 is a reminder of our identity. It can be said that February 21 is the lifeblood of our cultural consciousness".
He said that February 21 represents both the struggle to establish the dignity of the mother language and a movement to establish rights against oppression.
"Therefore, February is a month of realizing self-identity and searching for our roots," the premier said, adding, like every year, the government honored its learned individuals, poets, writers, artists and language movement activists with the Ekushey Padak in this month this year too.
Introducing the work and life of distinguished individuals to the general public is one of the responsibilities of the state, he said.
Describing February 21 as the eternal spirit and the seed mantra for achieving freedom, Tarique Rahman said that the nation has crossed 74 years of the Language Movement and entered its 75th year.
"At the Ekushey Padak award ceremony introduced in memory of the language martyrs of Amar Ekushey, I pay deep tribute to the language heroes," he said and prayed that Allah accept their deaths as martyrdom.
Congratulating the Ekushey Padak-2026 winners, Tarique Rahman wished them happy and long lives.
He expressed the hope that one day Bangla language and literature will shine in the world of global literature.
Later, the premier took part in a photo session with the awardees.
Source: BSS