GUWAHATI, Nov 28 ? The Kamal Kumari National Awards for Art and Culture and Science and Technology, 2002 and 2003, and the Siva Prasad Barooah National Award for Journalism, 2002 and 2003, were presented at a function at the Pragjyoti-ITA Centre for Performing Arts, Machkhowa, today.
The recipients of the Kamal Kumari awards were Maharaj Kumari Binodini Devi (Art and Culture-2002), Dr Samir Bhattacharya (Science and Technology-2002), Jahnu Barua (Art and Culture-2003), and Dr Jitendra Nath Goswami (Science and Technology-2003). Teesta Setalvad (2002) and Prannoy Roy were the recipients of the Siva Prasad Barooah Awards for Journalism.
Eminent litterateur and Jnanpith Award winner Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami presented the awards that contained a citation, a shawl, a trophy and Rs 1 lakh in cash. She also delivered the eighth Kamal Kumari Memorial Lecture on the Ramayana.
The octogenarian Binodini Devi, who is Manipur?s first woman graduate and a author in her own right, described the occasion as her happiest day. ?Assam has always been a second home to me, and it gives me immense pleasure to bestowed with this honour here,? she said. She also voiced grave concern at the turmoil gripping Manipur for quite some time and referred to the abuses of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, which she said ?was not for us.?
Asserting that science and technology alone held the key to the country?s progress, especially in mitigating poverty and misery of the people, Dr Samir Bhattacharya, a former Director of the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, and a leading scientist, sounded a warning that the cost of life-giving drugs would escalate alarmingly by 2005, making those out of reach for even the middle class populace.
?We are already late in ensuring that there is ready availability of medicines for critical diseases. It is time we put to use our resources ? both intellectual as well as biodiversity ? and arrested the situation before it went out of hand,? he observed.
Filmmaker of international repute Jahnu Barua, while stressing the need for a ?strong cultural unification? of the North-eastern States, said that the region had suffered a lot on account of the physical disintegration. ?My urge for unity became stronger after the unfortunate disintegration of the North-east,? he said.
Dr Jitendra Nath Goswami, a renowned Astrophysicist, who has also been chosen the principal scientist for the country?s Moon mission for 2007, called upon the people of the North-east not to look up to New Delhi for anything and everything, and said that local effort was crucial to identifying the talents and tapping those.
Goswami, who hails from Jorhat, is currently a Senior professor, Physical Research laboratory, Ahmedabad, and has several major scientific achievements to his credit in the field of Solar System, Cosmic Ray Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences.
Teesta Setalvad, in her speech, underscored the need for time-bound trials in the post-Gujarat situation. ?The challenges for the secular forces are getting sterner,? she felt. Setalvad, who is a journalist, writer and activist, has been a relentless crusader against prejudices in matters of community, caste and gender.
Prannoy Roy of NDTV, often known as the face of credibility on Indian television, was unable to attend the function. His acceptance message, however, was projected on a screen. Bano Haralu of NDTV accepted the award on his behalf.
Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami gave a critical appraisal of the Ramayana in its different language versions, and said the epic continues to inspire modern writers and poets. ?The roots of the Ramayana have crossed over the Indian Ocean and are spreading far and wide. People are rediscovering the Ramayana and Gandhi,? she said.
Amit Barooah, trustee of the Kamal Kumari Foundation, also spoke. The Kamal Kumari awards were instituted in 1990 to promote excellance in the fields of science and technology, as also cultural pursuits. The Siva Prasad Barooah awards were instituted in 1999 to promote news-media excellence.