Chief Adviser presents Independence Award

Seven people received the Independence Award-2025 this year in recognition of their glorious and meritorious contributions at the national level. Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser to the Interim Government, presented the 'Independence Award-2025' at a ceremony at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital on Tuesday.

This year, seven eminent persons have been awarded the country's highest civilian award. Of these, six were given the award posthumously, and their family members accepted the award on their behalf.

The only living eminent person nominated for the award, Badruddin Mohammad Umar, had earlier announced that he would not accept the award. This author of more than a hundred books has not accepted any award in his lifetime. The government respects this personal thought of his, but it was announced at the ceremony that a replica of his award will be kept in the National Museum.

Earlier, on March 11, the Cabinet Division issued a notification of the list of nominees for the highest national award.

The individuals who received the Independence Award this time are: Professor Jamal Nazrul Islam (posthumously) in Science and Technology, Mir Abdus Shukur Al Mahmud (posthumously) in Literature, Novera Ahmed (posthumously) in Culture, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed (posthumously) in Social Service, Mohammad Mahbubul Haque Khan alias Azam Khan (posthumously) in Liberation War and Culture, Badruddin Mohammad Umar in Education and Research, and Abrar Fahad (posthumously) in Protest Youth.

The program was hosted by Cabinet Secretary Dr Sheikh Abdur Rashid. At the program, he said that the Independence Award is given every year in recognition of unique contributions in various fields of national life to pay tribute to the memory of the brave martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the Liberation War. This award was introduced in 1977. The government has awarded this award to 324 individuals and 32 institutions till 2024.