Anisuzzaman, Professor Emeritus at the University of Dhaka, has been selected for India’s Padma Bhushan award this year for his lifelong contribution to Bangla literature.
Prof Anisuzzaman will be the first Bangladeshi to receive the award, the third highest civilian honour in India. He is among 25 personalities to have been selected for this year’s award.
A press release issued by the Indian High Commission in Dhaka yesterday stated that the eminent Bangladeshi scholar and writer was conferred the Padma Bhushan for Literature and Education on the occasion of India’s 65th Republic Day.
In an immediate reaction, Anisuzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune that hewas very happy to have been selected for the award, and thanked the Indian government. He also admitted that he was a little bit surprised as he had no idea that he was in the running for the award.
“It is a great achievement for our country,” Anisuzzaman said, as he was busy receiving greetings from colleagues, admirers and family friends yesterday. “This award is for all of my friends, family and countrymen. I feel honoured.”
The professor also said he was working for the people to establish a secular and non-communal Bangladesh.
Anisuzzaman earlier received the Bangla Academy Award, the Ananda Purashkar, for his work. In 2011, he got the Pandit Iswarchandra Vidyasagar Gold Plaque from the Asiatic Society of Kolkata.
Anisuzzaman was born in 1937 at Basirhaat village of 24Parganain West Bengal. He received his doctorate degree from the University of Chicago and taught at universities in Dhaka and Chittagong. He was also involved with the 1952 Language Movement.
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award after the Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan. The award is traditionally presented by the president of India in a formal ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.