By IANS,
New Delhi : Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial hopeful L.K. Advani, film star Aamir Khan and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit were among those honoured with the NDTV’s Indian of the Year 2008 awards at a glittering ceremony here Thursday.
The awards function was attended by Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad and other luminaries from all walks of life. Among others present were film stars Aamir Khan and Anil Kapoor and Kavita Karkare, the widow of Maharashtra Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Hemant Karkare, who was killed in the Nov 26 Mumbai terror attack.
While Advani was given a special recognition for Lifetime Achievement, Dikshit was adjudged the Leader of the Year. Her Jammu and Kashmir counterpart Omar Abdullah was announced the GenNext Politician of the Year.
These were the NDTV’s fourth annual awards.
Aamir Khan was presented with the Entertainer of the Year Award and the cast and crew of Slumdog Millionaire was awarded the Global Excellence of the Year Award.
The Mumbai bravehearts, who fought to save the life of hundreds of innocents during the Mumbai attacks, were awarded the Indian of the Year Award.
Other categories of the awards included Sportsperson of the Year – Abhinav Bindra, Businessperson of the year – Deepak Parekh, 25 Years of Promoting Indian Culture – Dr. Kiran Seth of Spic Macay and Unsung Hero of the Year – G. Madhavan Nair.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s Chandrayaan team was also honoured with the Unsung Hero of the Year Award.
Speaking on the occasion, Chidambaram said that “our main objective at present should be to improve our level of preparedness and determination to respond swiftly against terrorism.”
“I request the people of our country, including the government, to change their attitude to fight against any odds and at the same time be a civilized society,” he added.
Dikshit, who is serving her third consecutive term as the chief minister said: “My next important goal is successful Commonwealth Games and to take the opportunity to transform Delhi into a world class city.”
Speaking on the occasion, Advani stressed that the politicians have greater responsibility in shaping the country’s future as they are always under sharp scrutiny.
“The country is facing a terrible time but as a nation we should be optimistic and believe in ourselves to overcome the challenges,” he added.