National Communal Harmony Award, 2007 & 2008 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi held on 12 August 2009

National Communal Harmony Awards 2009 announced

The National Foundation for Communal Harmony has instituted three National Communal Harmony Awards, one each for an individual and an organisation  that are given every year for outstanding contribution for continued promotion of communal harmony and/or national integration over a period of time. The awards carry a citation and cash  amount as indicated below­

 The awards are being regulated as under­ :- 

1.   Objectives 

(a)  The awards have been instituted to promote communal harmony by recognising activities relating to:- 

(i)      discouraging communal ill-will and regional animosities and weaning the misguided elements of society away from the path of violence;

(ii)     active and energetic propagation of the principles, especially of tolerance and harmony;

(iii)    mobilising constructive forces of society in the cause of national unity and solidarity and giving them leadership, encouragement and articulation;

(iv)     devising suitable community activities and programmes for fostering fellow feeling emphasising the secular character of the country;

(v)      propagating and working for national integration and harmony between different communities, irrespective of religious, linguistic or ethnic differences; and

(vi)   asserting the common values and cultural ties which bind or act as unifying factor among the people living in this country. 

2.   Eligibility 

 (a)  An individual is eligible for consideration of the award if he/she 

(i)     has been working in the area of national integration and communal harmony for a minimum period of ten years;

(ii)   does not hold any elective office in parliament, state legislature or local body constituted under an act of parliament or the state legislature;

(iii)     is not a member of a political party recognised by the Election Commission of India; and ­

(iv)      is above 35 years of age and is alive on the date of nomination. 

(b)   In the case of an organisation, it is essential that the organisation­ 

(i)   is registered under an appropriate act of parliament or state legislature;

(ii)     has been working at the all-India level, or at least state level. In case activities of the organisation are at the state level, these should be spatially well dispersed and extend to cover a substantial area of the state; and

(iii)    should have been functioning for a minimum of five years in the field of promotion of national integration and communal harmony. 

(c)    No educational institution or a body created under an act of parliament or the state legislature is eligible for the awards. 

3.    Method of selection 

a)       The nominations for the awards shall be sent by (i) state government/union territory administration, (ii) municipal corporations/municipal councils/zila panchayats by whatever name these are called in a state, (iii) speakers of Lok Sabha/ state Vidhan Sabha, (iv) leaders of recognised political parties, (v) members of the National Integration Council, Governing Council/ Executive Council of the NFCH (vi) vice-chancellors of universities and (vii) organisations of repute dedicated to the promotion of communal harmony and national integration. Nominations can not be made by an organisation for itself or for any of its members.

b)      Nominations shall be accompanied by a script typed on electronic gadgets or typewriter or in English or Hindi indicating the outstanding contribution made year-wise by the individual/organisation  duly signed by the person making the nomination indicating the reasons why he/she considers him/her or the organisation as deserving the award as per the requirement in the nomination format. The nominating authority should clearly indicate its name and designation and category in which it falls.

c)      Nominations for organisations shall also be accompanied by a copy of the registration certificate, rules and bye-laws of the organisation, names of office bearers and their addresses along with relationship between different office bearers, and audited statement of accounts during the last three years and a resume of the outstanding work done by the organization. (For Details please also refer the application format)

d)      The last date for receipt of the nominations is the 30^th June of the year.

e)      Canvassing in any form in respect of a nomination shall render it disqualified.

f)      Nominations shall be considered by a jury and its decision in respect of the award shall be final.  

4.   Announcement of awards

The awards shall be announced every year on the 26^th January. However if due to unforeseen/unavoidable reasons it is not possible to announce the awards on the 26th January. These shall be announced as soon as possible thereafter.

5.    Presentation

(i)  Presentation of the awards shall be made at a ceremony to be organised by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH).

 

(ii)   The awardee shall be reimbursed to and fro expenditure for attending the Investiture ceremony for the presentation of award as per rules of the   NFCH.

Shri Ram Puniyani (Individual Category) receiving NCH Award, 2007 from the President	Setu Charitable Trust (Organisation Category) receiving NCH Award, 2007 from the President
Dr. Dominic Emmanuel SVD (Individual Category) receiving NCH Award, 2008 from the President	Anjuman Sair-e-Gul Faroshan (Organisation Category) receiving NCH Award, 2008 from the President

6.      General

• All correspondence in the matter should be made either in Hindi or English addressed to the Secretary/Joint Secretary, NFCH. In case documents in regional languages are enclosed, their translation in Hindi or English should accompany the proposal.  

• A person/organization who has been nominated for the award shall be deemed to have accepted these rules.

List of the Awardees

Year	Name	Category
1997	Shri Asghar Ali Engineer, Maharashtra Quami Ekta Trust, Delhi	Individual Organisation
1998	Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Delhi	Individual
1999	Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Maharashtra	Organisation
2000	Bhakti Sahitya Shodh Sansthan, Andhra Pradesh	Organisation
2001	Dr. Tontada Siddhaling Swamiji, Karnataka	Individual
2002	Smt. Syeda Naseem Chishti, Delhi	Individual
2003	National Youth Project Trust, Delhi	Organisation
2004	Acharya Shri Mahaprajna, Delhi Akhil Bharat Rachanatmak Samaj, Delhi	Individual Organisation
2005	Ms. Hema Bharali, Assam Ramakrishna Mission, West Bengal	Individual Organisation
2006	Shri Rabindra Nath Upadhyaya,  Assam Institute for Socialist Education, Delhi	Individual Organisation
2007	Shri Ram Puniyani, Maharashtra Setu Charitable Trust, Maharashtra	Individual Organisation
2008	Dr. Dominic Emmanuel SVD, Delhi Anjuman Sair-e-Gul Faroshan, Delhi	Individual Organisation
2009	Dr. Mohd. Hanif Khan Shastri, Delhi Center for Human Rights & Social Welfare, Rajasthan	Individual Organisation