Renowned writer, researcher, and politician Badruddin Umar has announced that he will not accept the Independence Award. In a statement sent to the media on Thursday, he said, “Since 1973, I have been offered awards from various government and non-government organizations, but I have never accepted them. Now, the interim government has announced that they will present me with the Independence Award. I thank them for this, but I cannot accept it.” It is worth noting that the Independence Award is the highest state honor in Bangladesh, presented annually on March 26, Independence Day, since 1977.