This year, three journalists from print, online and electronic media categories received the award for their excellent journalism on the glorious liberation war of Bangladesh.
Among them, The Daily Star correspondent Ahmed Ishtiaq won the award in the print and online category, while Jamuna Television senior correspondent Ahmed Raza and Ektor Television special correspondent Partha Sanjay received the award in the electronic media category.
The award is presented in the memory of Bazlur Rahman, late editor of Daily Sangabad and recipient of the Freedom Award. Bazlur Rahman died suddenly in 2008. Subsequently, the Liberation War Museum instituted this award through the initiative of his wife and former Agriculture Minister, Matia Chaudhary. For more than a decade, this award has been presented regularly for the best reports on the liberation war in print and electronic media. It carries a cash prize of Taka 100,000 along with a crest and a certificate.
Artist Rafiqun Nabi believes that such incidents were deliberately created out of “people’s desire to forget” the liberation war. However, noting that the memories of the liberation war can never be erased, he said, “We were part of the liberation war, we saw the liberation war, and we carry those memories within us. It is impossible for us to deviate from that.”