This year, three journalists from the print, online, and electronic media categories received the award for their outstanding journalism on the glorious Liberation War of Bangladesh.

Among them, Ahmad Ishtiak, a Correspondent for The Daily Star, won in the print and online category, while Ahmed Reza, Senior Correspondent at Jamuna Television, and Partha Sanjay, Special Correspondent at Ekattor Television, received the awards in the electronic media category.

This award is presented in memory of Bazlur Rahman, the late editor of Daily Sangbad and a recipient of the Independence Award. Bazlur Rahman passed away suddenly in 2008. Subsequently, the Liberation War Museum introduced this award through the initiative of his wife and former Agriculture Minister, Matia Chowdhury. For over a decade, this award has been regularly presented for the best reports on the Liberation War in print and electronic media. It carries a cash prize of Tk 100,000, along with a crest and a certificate.

Artist Rafiqun Nabi believes that such incidents were orchestrated out of a deliberate “desire to make people 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 witnessed the Liberation War, and we carry those memories within us. It is impossible for us to deviate from that.”