Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus hands over the Ekushey Padak to the Avro Keyboard team during an event in Dhaka on 20 February 2025. Photo: Collected
The Ekushey Padak is the Bangladesh second highest civilian award. It was given to the Avro Keyboard’s inventors in appreciation of their work advancing Bangla computers. This morning, February 20, Mehdi Hasan Khan, Rifat Nabi, Tanbin Islam Siam, and Shabab Mustafa received the award from Chief Adviser Prof. Muhammad Yunus during a ceremony in Dhaka. With its initial release in 2003, Avro Keyboard transformed Bangla typing by making it easy to use and accessible. The program became quite popular because it made it possible for users to enter Bangla phonetically without requiring complicated keyboard configurations.
Millions of peoples now find it simpler to connect online and produce content in their own script because to Mehdi and his team’s innovative efforts in digitizing the Bangla language. At first Mehdi Hasan Khan insisted that Avro Keyboard was a joint project created with his buddies and refused to acknowledge the Ekushey Padak by itself. He expressed his worries in public, saying that everyone who helped develop and improve the software should receive credit. His position generated debates and highlighted the efforts of the whole Avro Keyboard development team. After receiving the letter, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs changed its mind and declared that Mehdi and his three teammates, Shabab Mustafa, Tanbin Islam Siam, and Rifat Nabi, would share the honor.
Source: The Business Standard
