Dhaka, March 31 (Representative) India on Thursday honoured cultural personality of Bangladesh, Sanjeeda Khatun, with the prestigious Padma Shri award. Vikram Doraiswami, the country’s High Commissioner in Dhaka, handed over the award on behalf of Indian President Ram Nath Kovind. The information was shared on the Facebook page of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. Sanjeeda was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s state civil honour, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the arts. Due to health reasons, she could not attend the award ceremony held in India on November 21 last year.
Sanjeeda is a prominent musician. She was one of the main founders of Bangladesh Muktisangrami Shilpi Sangstha during the war of liberation in 1971. Sanjeeda is one of the founders of Chayanat, an organisation dedicated to retaining the Bengali culture of the early 60s of the last century. Under her tutelage, Chayanat is now a world-renowned organisation working to promote classical music and dance. The Indian High Commissioner also presented Sanjeeda with a memento, which was given to the recipients of Padma Shri in 2020 and 2021 on Friendship Day.