PM picked for Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been selected to be conferred the Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque 2009 for significant contribution towards human progress.
The Asiatic Society, Kolkata awards Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque annually to an eminent person of global repute for significant contribution to international understanding or human progress or for inter-cultural cooperation.
Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty during his farewell call on prime minister at the Prime Minister's Office yesterday handed over a letter of the Asiatic Society to her in this regard.
The letter read: “The Council of Asiatic Society in its meeting decided, unanimously, to confer the Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque 2009 on Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh.”
It said Asiatic Society would feel honoured if Sheikh Hasina kindly gives her consent to receive the plaque.
The decision to institute the award was taken by the Asiatic Society on November 17, 1984. The award was first introduced in 1985 and former Swedish premier late Olof Palme was the first recipient.
The Bangladesh premier has also been selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, 2009 in November.
Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela were awarded with the plaque in 1987 and 1989.
Other recipients of the Plaque were Dr Javier Perez de Cuellar (1988), Rev Desmond Tutu (1990), Yasser Arafat (1993), Aung San Suu Kyi (1995), Dr Gabriel Garcia (1998), Gunter Grass (1999), Fidel Castro (2000), Ernst Steinkellner (2006), Pranab Mukherjee (2008), Dinkar Kowshik (2007), Somnath Hore (2004), Ustad Bismillah Khan (2003), Pandit Ravi Shankar (2001), Prof Amartya Sen (1994).
The premier and the Indian high commissioner discussed various matters of national, regional and international development during the meeting, PM's Press Secretary PM Abul Kalam Azad told the newsmen after the meeting.
Hasina said Bangladesh believes in peace and friendly relationship with all of its neighbouring countries for the sake of welfare of the people of this region.