The Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai, has been selected for the National Communal Harmony Award 2013 in the organisation category. Mohinder Singh of Delhi and N Radhakrishnan of Kerala have been selected for the award in the individual category.
Established in 1996, CSSS is a Mumbai-based organisation working to promote peace, secularism and communal harmony in the country. It has also been working on human rights issues and for the cause of the marginalised and deprived sections of society.
The centre has published a number of books and literary material highlighting different facets of violence, communalism, peace, secularism and communal harmony, which have wide readership. The centre has also been regularly publishing a quarterly journal ‘Indian Journal of Secularism’, which is popular among academics and the masses.
Dr. Singh, 72, is a scholar and member of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions. He was a Member of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities from 2005 to 2007. In 1984, he along with other social activists, organised relief camps at Delhi and restored friendship between the Hindu and Sikh communities in the wake of the anti-Sikh riots.
Dr. Radhakrishnan, 69, is a well-known academic, Gandhian scholar and peace worker. He initiated the Shanti Sena programme at the Gandhigram University and extended the work to other parts of the country. He has been actively working to restore peace in communally tense areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Having served as Director of Gandhi Smriti & Darshan Samiti, New Delhi, for more than a decade, he was instrumental in initiating and implementing many innovative activities in educational institutions using Gandhian values and principles. His campaign ‘Himsamukth Bharat Andolan’ motivates people to become foot soldiers in campaigning for peace and sustainable development.
The National Communal Harmony Awards were instituted in 1996 by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony, an autonomous organisation under the Union Home Ministry. In addition to a citation in each category, the award carries a cash award of Rs.5 lakh for individuals and Rs.10 lakh for organisations, according to an official release here on Saturday.
