The Independence Award (Bengali: স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার, romanized: Sbādhīnôtā Purôskār), formally known as the Independence Day Award or Swadhinata Padak (Bengali: স্বাধীনতা পদক, romanized: Sbādhīnôtā Pôdôk, lit.

[2] Introduced in 1977 by President Ziaur Rahman, this award is bestowed upon Bangladeshi citizens or organizations in recognition of substantial contributions to one of many fields, including the War of Liberation, the Language Movement, education, literature, journalism, public service, science and technology, medical science, social science, song, games and sports, fine arts, rural development, and other areas.

[3] Each awardee receives a gold medal, a certificate of honour, and 500,000 Bangladeshi takas (US$4109).

[5] The award is traditionally presented on the eve of Independence Day in Bangladesh at a much publicized ceremony attended by several cabinet and parliament members and distinguished society guests.

[5] Furthermore, the award to the Rapid Action Battalion was criticized by many[6] because of RAB's alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings.