Ten prominent individuals and institutions are receiving the Ekushey Padak this year in recognition of their significant contributions to the language movement, arts and society. The list was officially announced by the Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam at a briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Thursday.
Popular actress Farida Akter Babita is receiving the Ekushey Padak for her special contribution to cinema. Legendary artist Ayub Bachchu is being given the posthumous Padak in recognition of his lifetime contribution to music. Arthi Ahmed is receiving the award for his contribution to dance, and the band Warphase is receiving the award in recognition of their long journey in the music industry.
Apart from this, Professor Md. Abdus Sattar in Fine Arts, Marina Tabassum in Architecture, Islam Uddin Palakar in Drama, Shafiq Rehman in Journalism, Professor Dr. Mahbubul Alam Majumder in Education and Tejas Halder Yas in Sculpture are on the list of this year’s medal recipients.
The government invited nominations for the Ekushey Padak-2026 in July last year. After scrutiny, the final list was published on Thursday.
It is worth noting that the Ekushey Padak is awarded every year by the state in recognition of outstanding contributions in various fields, including the language movement, with the aim of honoring distinguished individuals and inspiring the new generation.