by: Babu Thomas

"The government and civil society groups must continuously watch and raise our voice against groups and individuals who use violence in the name of religion," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressing an award ceremony in the national capital on Wednesday.

At the Kabir Puraskar and National Communal Harmony Awards for the years 2007 and 2008, the prime minister underlined the need to carry forward the great tradition of India which for "centuries provided a unique social and intellectual environment in which many distinct religions have not only co-existed peacefully but have also enriched each other."

"No religion preaches hatred and endorses animosity towards another human being," he said adding, "Those who use religious symbols and forums to talk of violence, sectarianism and discord cannot be said to be true spokesperson of their respective religion."

Human right activists Ram Puniyani and Fr. Dominic Emmanuel; NGOs Setu Charitable Trust and Anjuman Sair-e-Gul Faroshan were honoured with the National Communal Harmony Awards for their contribution towards communal harmony fraternity and national integration.

Fr. Emmanuel who is the spokesperson of the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese has been working for communal harmony for the past two decades. He has been active in the service of inter-religious dialogue and is also one of the founding members of Parliament of Religions (Sarvadharam Sadbhav).

The awards were given away by President Pratibha Patil. Others included in the function were Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani and Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken.

The award carries Rs 5 lakh in cash for the organisation and Rs 2 lakh for the individual, besides a citation.

Kabir Puraskar for 2008 was conferred on Abdul Gani Abdullabhai Qureishi of Gujarat and Ghulam Ahmed Bhat of Jammu and Kashmir for their courageous acts during communal violence.

Kabir Puraskar is a National Award instituted by the Government of India for recognizing the acts of physical/moral courage displayed by a member of one caste, community or ethnic group in saving the lives and properties of member(s) of another caste, community or ethnic group during caste, community or ethnic violence.