President gives away National Communal Harmony Awards and Kabir Puraskar for 2006
The President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presented the National Communal Harmony Awards and Kabir Puraskar for 2006 at a ceremony here today. The National Communal Harmony Award was presented to venerable Gandhian, Shri Rabindra Nath Upadhyay, from Assam in the individual category and the Institute for Socialist Education, Delhi in the organisation category. The award carries a citation and a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh in the individual category and a citation and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh in the organisation category. The National Communal Harmony awards are given for promotion of communal harmony, fraternity and national integration. Kabir Puraskar Grade III was presented to Shri Ram Babu Singh Chauhan of Uttar Pradesh. The award in Grade III carries a certificate, a citation and a cash amount of Rs. 50,000. Kabir Puraskar is given to promote communal harmony by recognizing acts of physical and moral courage as also display of humane approach by an individual for saving the lives and properties of the members of another community during communal riots, caste conflicts and ethnic clashes.
In their speeches on the occasion, the President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Vice President, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Home Minister, Shri Shivraj Patil and the Minister of State for Home Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal stressed the importance of promoting communal harmony and amity among all sections of the society. They expressed confidence that the awardees would inspire others also to work for communal harmony and amity. They also cautioned the gathering about the forces of communalism and religious extremism who pose great danger to the country’s unity and integrity.
From the year 2007, another award for the students' union category carrying a citation and cash amount of Rs. three lakh has been instituted.
OK/RK/SAK
(Release ID :28161)