(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Friday presented the 'National Communal Harmony Award' to Mohammad Hanif Khan Shastri, Acharya Lokesh Muni and the Centre for Human Rights and Social Welfare for their outstanding work in the field of communal harmony and national integration.
Shastri, who works with Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, has endeavoured to promote communal harmony by highlighting similarities between Hindu and Muslim religions through his unique literary contributions in Hindi and Sanskrit. He was conferred the award for the year 2009. Through his works, Shastri has tried to show similarities between the Quran and Hindu mythology.
Acharya Muni is the founder president of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharati, a Delhi-based voluntary organisation, which aims to promote non-violence, peace, communal harmony and works against female foeticide and drug addiction and provides help during natural calamities. He was given the award for 2010.
The Centre for Human Rights and Social Welfare, which was conferred the award for 2009, is a Jaipur- based social organisation which has been working for human rights, communal harmony and national integration apart from working for the homeless, welfare of women, footpath dwellers, rehabilitation of the needy and deprived persons.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P Chidambaram were among those who attended the award giving function.
Addressing the gathering, Ansari said, "The state has no choice but to intervene in instances of communal disharmony. Such interventions can either be preventive or corrective in nature. The general focus has remained on corrective steps due to the intense interest in the wake of incidents of communal disharmony."
He maintained that while this was necessary, it was not sufficient. "We need a pervasive preventive approach to communal disharmony and a conscious programme of fostering communal harmony."
End item/ 149
