The Bangladesh government has changed the rules regarding the Independence Awards after debate surrounding Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury receiving the honour for a second time. An order from the Cabinet Division on Sunday amended Article 7.11 of the Independence Awards guidelines to add the provision. The amended article states, "No person/institution who has received the Independence Award will be considered for the Independence Award or any other national-level award again. According to the list of Independence Award recipients published on the website of the Cabinet Division, Zafrullah received the award in the first year of the introduction of the Swadhinata Award in 1977 for his contributions to population control. This sparked discussion of whether the same person can receive the Independence Award twice.

Source: bd News24 March 09, 2026 11:06 UTC