Atiur Rahman, central bank governor, receives the Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque at a ceremony in Kolkata yesterday.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman has received the prestigious Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque 2011 at a ceremony in Kolkata, the central bank said in a statement yesterday.

The award was in recognition of his contribution to international cooperation towards human progress.

Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly, the chairperson of West Bengal Human Rights Commission, presented the award at the 228th annual general meeting of The Asiatic Society at the society's Vidyasagar Hall.

“I accept with deep gratitude and utter humility the Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque for 2011 awarded to me by the Asiatic Society in appreciation of my humble efforts towards advancement of human progress through international cooperation,” Rahman said.

“It is a deeply moving experience to see my name added to the elite company of the very distinguished luminaries awarded with this Gold Plaque in the preceding years,” Rahman said in his speech.

“Of further significance to me is that the award bears the name of late Indira Gandhi,” he said.

“Indira Gandhi was instrumental in helping hasten victory in Bangladesh's 1971 liberation war by letting Indian soldiers shed their blood side by side with our valiant freedom fighters.”

“I take this opportunity to pay homage to her soul.”

“Far more than a personal reward and recognition, I see this prestigious award as a recognition and reaffirmation of our high priority for human progress through poverty eradication and social empowerment of the disadvantaged groups in our communities, opening up advancement opportunities equitably for all.”

“I have consistently been driven by a strong urge of deepening civil society activism for human welfare through people-to-people contact and cooperation.”

“In my current assignment as central bank governor, as also in my earlier roles as commercial bank board member/chairman, I have persistently acted to steer traditional urban elite based banking away towards broader, deeper financial inclusion of the underserved poor,” Rahman added.

Prof Pallab Sengupta, president of Asiatic Society, and Prof Mihir Kumar Chakrabarti, general secretary, were also present.

The award was introduced in 1985. The award's past recipients include ex-Swedish premier Olof Palme (1985), Dr DS Kothari (1986), Nobel Laureates Mother Teresa (1987), ex -Secretary General of the United Nations Dr Javier Perez de Cuellar (1988), Dr Nelson Mandela (1989), Rev Desmond Tutu (1990), Aruna Asaf Ali (1992), Yasser Arafat (1993), Prof Amartya Sen (1994) and Aung San Suu Kyi (1995).

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 8th May 2012