Political philosopher and scholar Lord Bhiku Parekh, philanthropist Sudha Murthy and Jesuit priest and mathematician Father Carlos Valles were conferred with Santokbaa Award for year 2015 at Surat recently. The award which carries Rs 2500,000 and citations to each were presented by Kathakar Morari Bapu.
Lord Bikhu, as he was commonly called, said it was not easy to give away your hard-earned money but many were doing it in the western countries. This should be the ethos of a modern society, he added. Lord Bikhu is an eminent political theorist in Britain and an active member in the House of Lords. During his tenure, he has contributed immensely towards societal changes that were once a major cause of concern to Britain's culture in the early 70s. He has pioneered many concepts on multiculturalism, collective rights and responsibility and other socio-cultural issues that have influenced the governance in UK.
Lord Bhiku has worked to bring about a non-interventionist and tolerant political view where people of different ethnicities could live in harmony. It was through his ideologies and his unrelenting dedication towards his work that he managed to bring a significant understanding of Indian culture on a global platform. During his lifetime, he has been conferred with a number of awards such as the Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize, Distinguished Global Thinker Award, Padma Bhushan, etc. by many international forums.
Achievements & Awards:
Lord Bhiku has earned fellowships in a number of well-known institutions such as University of Oxfords, Royal Society of Arts and the Academy of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences in 1999 and the British Academy. He has won a number of awards for his work, some of them being Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize (2003) by the Political Studies Association, UK, the Life Peer in 2000 which earned him the title as Baron Parekh and BBC's Special Lifetime Achievement Award for Asians in 1999. Bhiku has also earned a honorary doctorate from the University of Essex and in 2007, he received the Padma Bhushan from the Indian government.
Sudha Murthy said, "I learned it very early in my life that if you want your country to progress, you must become an entrepreneur. I love the spirit of entrepreneurship of Gujaratis."
Father Valles, who is from Spain but has authored over 70 books in Gujarati, said, "I was sent to learn and teach Gujarati in the newly opened St Xavier's College in Ahmedabad. However, I began teaching Mathematics later as some locals objected to my teaching Gujarati." The nonagenarian is now settled in Spain after retirement.
Santokbaa award is instituted in the memory of the mother of Diamond baron Govind Dholakiya, who runs Shree Ramkriskhna Foundation and SRK Exports, a Rs 60 billion diamond export firm.
Bhiku Parek is an eminent political theorist in Britain and an active member in the House of Lords. During his tenure, he has contributed immensely towards societal changes that were once a major cause of concern to Britain's culture in the early 70's. He has pioneered many concepts on multiculturalism, collective rights and responsibility and other socio-cultural issues that have influenced the governance in UK. Commonly addressed as Lord Bhiku, he has worked to bring about a noninterventionist and tolerant political view where people of different ethnicities could live in harmony. It was through his ideologies and his unrelenting dedication towards his work that he managed to bring a significant understanding of Indian culture on a global platform. During his lifetime, he has been conferred with a number of awards such as the Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize, Distinguished Global Thinker Award, Padma Bhushan, etc. by many international forums.
Achievements & Awards:
Lord Bhiku has earned fellowships in a number of well-known institutions such as University of Oxfords, Royal Society of Arts and the Academy of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences in 1999 and the British Academy. He has won a number of awards for his work, some of them being Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize (2003) by the Political Studies Association, UK, the Life Peer in 2000 which earned him the title as Baron Parekh and BBC's Special Lifetime Achievement Award for Asians in 1999. Bhiku has also earned a honorary doctorate from the University of Essex and in 2007, he received the Padma Bhushan from the Indian government.
