Dhaka: Seventeen eminent personalities have been picked for Ekushey Padak 2017 in recognition of outstanding contributions to their respective fields.
 
The recipients are Language Movement veteran Prof Dr Sharifa Khatun (Language Movement); Shushama Das, music exponent Ustad Julhas Uddin Ahmed, celebrated flautist Ustad Azizul Islam and Rahmatullah Al Mahmud Selim (Music); Tanvir Mokammel (Film); Syed Abdullah Khalid (Sculpture), Sara Zaker (Drama), Abdul Momen and Swadesh Roy (Journalism); Syed Akram Hossain (Research); Emeritus Professor Alamgir Mohammad Sirajuddin (Education); Jamilur Reza Choudhury (Science and technology); Prof Dr Mahmud Hasan (Social service), Poet Omar Ali (posthumously) and Sukumar Barua (Language and literature) and  Shamim Ara Nipa (Dance).
 
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hand over the awards to them at a function at Osmani Memorial Auditorium on February 20, a day ahead of the International Mother Language Day.
 
The government introduced the Ekushey Padak in 1976 in memory of the martyrs of the Language Movement.