By Pervez bari, TwoCircles.net,
Bhopal: The Bharatiya Janata Party ruled Madhya Pradesh Government has announced to bestow its prestigious national Mahatma Gandhi award to New Delhi-based RSS affiliate Seva Bharti for working in accordance with Gandhian philosophy. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh and a citation.
Madhya Pradesh Culture Minister Lakshmikant Sharma, while making the announcement at a press conference here on Sunday, said Gandhiji also believed in serving humanity and the Seva Bharti is doing the same service. He also announced other national and state-level awards of the State Government for the year 2007-08 on the occasion.
The awardees of national awards include poetess Padma Sachdev (Kabir Samman – a cash prize of Rs. 3 lakh and a citation), Hindi littérateur Dr Shatrughan Prasad (Maithlisharan Gupt award – a cash award of Rs. 2 lakh and a citation), painter and sculptor Satish Gujral (Kalidas Samman – a cash award of Rs. 2 lakh and a citation), musician Balwant Rai Bhatt (Kalidas Samman – a cash award of Rs. 2 lakh and a citation), Bharatnatyam dancer Prof. C. V. Chandrashekhar (Kalidas Samman – a cash award of Rs 2 lakh and a citation), folk writer Dr. Shanti Jain (Devi Ahilyabai Samman – a cash award of Rs. 2 lakh and a citation) and journalist & writer Alok Mehta (National Sharad Joshi award for reporting, short-essays, diary and letter writing – a cash award of Rs. one lakh and a citation).
The awardees of state-level ‘Shikhar Samman’ awards include author Dr. A. K. Payasi, painter Dr. Lakshmi Narayan Bhavsar and violinist Basant Shevlikar. Under the state-level Shikhar Samman, Rs. 62,000 cash award and a citation will be given, the minister said.
Replying to a question Sharma said that the awards would be conferred during a felicitation ceremony soon at a function to be organised in Bhopal.
The state government would also honour archaeology professor Thakur Prasad Verma of Varanasi with the Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar award on the occasion which carries a cash prize of Rs. one lakh and a citation. ([email protected])