7 crore IIPM Rabindranath Tagore International Prize was won by Ramapada Chowdhuri and six others

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Nobel Laureate Mohan Munasinge and Lord Meghnad Desai came down to hand over the first edition of the 7 crore IIPM Rabindranath Tagore International Prize which was won by Ramapada Chowdhuri and six others.

Mohan Munasinghe and Lord Meghnad Desai along with IIPM’s Founder Director Dr Malay Chaudhuri and Dr NR Chatterjee handed over the first Rabindranath Tagore International Prize to Author Ramapada Chowdhuri for his classic work ‘Banpalashir Padabali’.

Dr Malay Chaudhuri announced, “We want to break the western monopoly on awards. The award is being primarily instituted in the field of People Centric Economics/ People Centric Management/ Literature/ Peace as an alternative to the Nobel Prize since it has been observed that economists, of the likes of Maurice Dobb, Oskar Lange and Joan Robinson, and authors from the developing world have been deprived of due recognition by the capitalist Western world.”

The first edition of the award was won jointly by Rmapada Chowdhury along with six authors posthumously i.e. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, Manik Bandopadhyay, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Jibanananda Das and Ashapurna Devi.

IIPM is setting up Foundations of Rs 1,00,00,000 each in their memory. Excellence in literature at a regional / national level will be awarded from the income generated from them.

With the Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize and an array of prestigious prizes instituted by IIPM in past like Manavata Vikas Award, Surama Chaudhuri Memorial International Award IIPM looks set to alter the international awards landscape for good. Further elaborating the reason to launch such a huge award, Dr. Chaudhuri explained, “This award has been instituted as a move to take away the West’s exclusive power to decide what is good in literature, art and peace efforts. The Nobel Prize for literature/economics has not always gone to great writers/economists. The Peace Prize has been, in recent times, given to people who have committed genocide. Therefore, the idea is to institute an award comparable with the Nobel Prize as a public demonstration of our opposition to the Western monopoly on awards for excellence in various fields. I see a shift from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is happening in economics and planning. Why shouldn’t it also happen in the domain of awards? Our effort is to push an initiative based on that superstructure. We want to decisively intervene in the process of deciding on awards and thereby having a say on what is worth appreciating and emulating.”

The Nobel Prize for literature this year will fetch the winner 1.08 million euros. Last year, the amount was 1 million euros. IIPM wanted to match that and make a real impact. IIPM’s Surama Chaudhuri Memorial International Award for Literature and Journalism is accompanied by an amount of $100,000. Indeed the prize moneys are big but does it really make the award as big?

Dr. Chaudhuri was candid about it as he said, “Well, I do not believe that money alone can decide the worth of an award. An award acquires prestige if it is consistently given to deserving people. This prestige is built over time. If our selection is proper and research based, the awards will be coveted by people all over the world over a period of the next few decades.” The coming years will surely decide if IIPM's initiatives will become globally as big as the Nobel, for now its time to celebrate the fact that an Indian has had the courage to institute a prize as big as the Nobel in value. In a country with the highest number of billionaires, that it comes from an educationist is another aspect to cheer about.

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Our prizes indicate the intellectual shift from West to East

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

The Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar, an initiative by the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), honours those intrepid and inspirational souls who set examples by being the change they wanted to see. Dr. Malay Chaudhuri, founder director of IIPM and chairman,IIPM awards committee, shares the vision behind this mission of invoking in each Indian the wisdom and will to touch lives, and make the nation proud.

(1.) What is the vision behind the awards?

In the very first prospectus of IIPM, way back in 1974, we wrote that the aim of the institute is to develop a three dimensional personality. We shall not only make experts in the field of management, but also help students cultivate the taste for literature, arts and inculcate within them a commitment to society. The moment we found the opportunity, we took the initiative to award those from the field of literature – and thus started the Surama Chowdhury Memorial International Prize in Literature (in 2008).

The prize money ($100,000) was almost double the amount awarded for Magsaysay Award (also known as the Nobel Prize of Asia) instituted by Philippines. In 2010, we instituted the Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize, the total award money for which (1.1 million euros) slightly exceeded the one for the Nobel Prize for Literature (1 million euros). Thereby, we emphasised our right to go beyond Western values while deciding what good literature is. The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Barack Obama who in reality did not take any peace initiatives. It was expected of him to take some peace initiative in Afghanistan. We now know that he initiated bombings in Afghanistan and even parts of Pakistan by sending drones.

Instead, people like Dr Binayak Sen and Irom Sharmila should have been considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. We may soon initiate the founding of the Tagore Memorial International Peace Award, with a minimum award purse of 1.1 million euros. Thereby, we shall challenge the right of the West to decide what may be considered as a ‘peace initiative’. Our prizes indicate the intellectual shift from the West to the East.

How soon do we see the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar going international?

We shall do that soon. We want to see recipients of these awards from various other nations.

(2.) Do you think the government has gone wrong with the whole Binayak Sen episode?

Our government is known more for corruption and wrongdoings. It is the characteristic of the government that those who fight for the poor are victimised and sent to jail. Therefore, let me not comment on what the government should do or not do. We want and demand that they, at least, release people like Dr Binayak Sen from jail so that such individuals can carry on with their peaceful activities, namely, helping the poorest of the poor in the field of health and nutrition.

In fact, not only Dr Binayak Sen, but all our awardees have done excellent work in their chosen fields. They deserve to be icons for our youth. We are very careful in choosing our awardees. They are not necessarily people who are well known. For example, Ms Prakash Kaur was someone we read about in The Sunday Indian. After reading the story, we thought that this lady has not been recognised and she is engaged in one of the most inspiring activities. Such are the people we want everyone to know about and take inspiration from.

(3.) What is your message to today’s youth?

The system is not democratic since it is not based on equity and peace. It is easy to manipulate illiterate masses to create vote banks and win elections. No political party thinks of the poor.

Children should be taught from childhood onwards that they should not be a prey of greed; that they should share with the poor who are also entitled to a life of dignity.
If India’s upper middle class and rich sections stay away from obscene, vulgar, conspicuous consumption, the poor could be provided with adequate food, education, health and social security, and thus they may escape suffering from malnutrition. 17% of our population, namely, every sixth Indian dies before he/she is forty. The youth of India must change all this. They must.

In pictures:

(1.) Dr Malay Chaudhuri lighting the inaugural lamp to the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar evebt; in the background is Swami Shantatmananda Maharaj of Ramakrishna Mission.
(2.) Dr. Kiran Bedi, one of the recipients of the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar.
(3.) Dr. Malay Chaudhuri

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IIPM celebrates selfless service

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

In a highly intellectual event, the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskars are awarded by IIPM to six transformational leaders committed to positive social change and equality.

1. It is worth walking the extra mile if at the end of it you know you have brought about a meaningful and positive change. In the same spirit, The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) honoured six individuals from different walks of life with the prestigious Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar for treading that extra mile. This award is given for the commitment to bring about a positive change in the society and for championing the cause of equality, social justice and human welfare. The award ceremony, organised in New Delhi on March 28, 2011, was presided over by Swami Shantatmananda Maharaj of the Delhi branch of Ramakrishna Mission.

The distinguished award, which additionally has a prize money of five lakh rupees, a gold medal and a citation, was conferred upon Dr Kiran Bedi, Prof. Ilina Sen, Dr Binayak Sen, Prakash Kaur, Justice (retd) V R Krishna Iyer and former Chief Election Commissioner of India, T. N. Seshan. It is one of the various awards that IIPM has instituted to celebrate the spirit of sacrifice and selfless giving.

2. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Malay Chaudhuri, founder Director, IIPM, and Chairman, IIPM Awards Committee, while commending the awardees for their commitment towards their respective causes, said, “In the absence of economic planning in India, social welfare and poverty alleviation programmes are never successful. This leads to criminalisation of the society and the exploitation of the poor at the hands of the rich and the corrupt.” The ultimate cause of uprooting poverty and injustice from the country is very close to the heart of Dr. Malay Chaudhuri.

Thanking IIPM for the award, the most respected social activist and former IPS officer, Dr Kiran Bedi said, “It gives me immense pleasure as this award will go a long way in contributing towards my cause.” She urged the IIPM students and civil society to join hands against corruption and exhorted them to work for the welfare of the poor at the grassroots level. Dr Kiran Bedi runs the NGOs Navjyoti and India Vision Foundation; and supports various social causes like prison reform, child welfare and prevention of drug abuse.

3. Prakash Kaur received the award for her unrelenting mission of rescuing unwanted and unclaimed newborn girls and giving them a secure home and future. “I feel grateful for this award,” said Kaur, overwhelmed with emotion, “It gives me immense satisfaction to be among the people who support humanitarian causes and are ready to help all those in need. I am an insignificant person and yet the IIPM awards committee selected me for this prestigious award.”

Prof. Ilina Sen and Dr Binayak Sen were individually awarded for their dedicated efforts in restoring sustained focus on human rights in Chhattisgarh and for ensuring social justice for the tribals. In the absence of Dr Binayak Sen, his wife Prof Ilina Sen received her husband's award too. Dr Ilina Sen, who has embraced a life full of difficulties, said, “I thank IIPM for the awards. The Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar has boosted my morale. It feels as if I am not alone in the ordeal through which my family is passing. This award has made me forget my pain for some time and I strongly hope that our struggle for social justice in Chhattisgarh and other parts of the country would produce the desired results.”

Retired Justice V R Krishna Iyer, who is over 96 years of age, could not make it to the awards function. Consequently, the award was received on his behalf by Dr Vinod Sethi, Secretary General of Capital Foundation Society, and a very close associate of Justice Iyer for several years. The iconic former election commissioner, T N Seshan, who was awarded for his commitment in bringing about electoral reforms and reinstating the confidence of the electorate in the democratic process, also could not turn up at the awards function because of ill health. He, however, conveyed his acceptance in a mail: “I consider this as the recognition of the vital role of democracy in the country... Thank you for selecting me. I accept the award with humility.”

4. Congratulating all the recipients of the award, Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri, Honorary Director, IIPM Think Tank, said, “Our focus should not be the survival of the fittest... It should be the survival of the weakest. Unfortunately, in our society, the exploitation of the weak by the powerful and the corrupt further pushes the weaker sections to the margins. With a non-functional judicial system and an equally inefficient policing system, the real criminals are always outside the prisons while those who cannot manage the money required for their bail are left to languish inside.”

In a message sent to IIPM, Justice Iyer echoed the sentiments of Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri. “Money rules and today no one seems to be above the power of wealth. Our elections are victimised by money power. It is unfortunate. Swaraj gained after a do-or-die struggle has become a casualty after Independence.”

IIPM over the years has instituted various awards in social development, literature, culture, peace and in other specific areas to recognize people who have contributed extensively in their respective fields. In August 2008, IIPM instituted the Surama Chowdhury Memorial International Prize in Literature to acknowledge the contribution of individuals in the field of literature. In April 2010, IIPM instituted the Manavata Vikas Award, which was conferred upon academicians like Dr Ashok Sanjay Guha and Prof Sunanda Sanyal, popular economists like Gurcharan Das and Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, and social thinkers like Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharya, Medha Patkar and Mahasweta Devi.

5. In May 2010, once again, IIPM instituted the Rabindra Smriti Puraskar in Kolkata and honoured some of the greatest individuals who have contributed in spreading Tagore’s consciousness through their works among the general mass – actor Soumitra Chatterjee, singer Suchitra Mitra, social visionary Dr Tushar Kanjilal and novelist Selina Hossain of Bangladesh. Once again, in August 2010, IIPM felicitated Irom Sharmila Chanu, the Iron Lady of Manipur with the Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize for her determined decade long struggle to revoke the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

In the same year, IIPM had also declared the Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize, with an award money of around Euro 1.15 million (or Rs. 7 crore), a purse that is greater than that of the Nobel Prize. The first such award would be given away in May 2011 on the completion of the 150th birth anniversary of India’s first Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore.


In pictures: (1) (L to R) Prof. Ilina Sen receiving Dr. Binayak Sen’s award from Swami Shantatmananda Maharaj, Mrs Chaudhuri & Dr. Malay Chaudhuri (2) Dr. Kiran Bedi being awarded by Swami Shantatmananda Maharaj and Dr. Malay Chaudhuri (3) Prakash Kaur receiving her award (4) Prof. Ilina Sen accepts her individual award (5) Dr Vinod Sethi (centre) receiving the award on behalf of Justice V R Krishna Iyer

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