Indian educationist and social worker for the promotion of indigenous languages in Odisha Dr. Mahendra Kumr Mishra was conferred the International Mother Language Award by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on 21st February.
- Dr. Mishra is the first from India to receive this award. Dr. Mishra has worked over three decades on the language, culture and education of the marginalised languages of Odisha.
- The award instituted in 2021 by UNESCO is given in recognition of the extraordinary contribution to the preservation, revitalization and development of mother languages.
- Prime Minister Hasina conferred the two national awards and two international awards to four recipients in Dhaka.
