N. Ram, senior journalist and Director, The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited, and Abusaleh Shariff, renowned economist and Member-Secretary, Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee, were honoured with the Quaide Milleth Award for Probity in Political/Public Life at an event held here on Saturday.
Instituted by the Quaide Milleth Educational and Social Trust in 2015, the award is presented to eminent personalities who demonstrate a commitment towards constitutional values, secularism, pluralism, and inclusivity. M.G. Dawood Miakhan, the trust’s secretary, said the selection committee, which included V. Vasanthi Devi, former Vice-Chancellor, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University; senior journalist A.S. Panneerselvan; and retired CSI Bishop V. Devasahayam, chose Mr. Ram for his “fearless, independent journalism”. Describing him as a “crusader for the preservation of inclusivity, secularism, and democracy”, Mr. Miakhan said the award was presented to him for his outstanding contributions, and for upholding democratic principles.
Mr. Shariff was honoured for his pivotal contributions to the preparation of the Sachar Committee report on the social, economic, and educational status of the Muslim community in the country, and multifaceted contributions in various roles in the Indian government. He is the founder of the Centre for Research and Debates in Development Policy.
Presenting the awards, F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla, former judge of the Supreme Court, said recipients of such awards motivated others to contribute to society’s uplift. The speakers recalled the contributions of Quaide Milleth Mohamed Ismail, one of the prominent leaders of modern India.
Mr. Ram said the trust and the award honoured the memory of a distinguished member of the Constituent Assembly. This was not the first time that constitutional values had come under pressure, he said, adding that people should fight peacefully within the framework of democratic, secular, and constitutional values. It would be difficult to overcome the challenges faced by journalists, civil activists, minority communities, and the Opposition parties without standing up to authoritarianism, he added.
Mr. Shariff said an equal opportunities commission should be formed at the State level, starting with Tamil Nadu. This would help collate data on the Muslim community to provide better opportunities, he added.
Datuk Seri Mohamed Iqbal, emeritus chairman, Business Advisory Council of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member G. Ramakrishnan felicitated the awardees. Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan felicitated the recipients in a video message.
