India International Friendship Society honoured the Health Minister of Uttarakhand Dr Ramesh Pokhariyal ?Nishank? with Bharat Gaurav Award at a function organised under the aegis of the Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan held in New Delhi recently. Other recipients of this year'saward included Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Champak Banerjee and Dr Kalpana. More than 400 NRIs were present on the occasion. The programme was presided over by former Governor Shri Bhishm Narayan Singh, while Shri Sukhdev Dhaliwal, a Minister from Canada and Shri Amir Raj Bansi, Minister of Sports, South Africa, were among the special guests on the occasion.
Receiving the award, Dr Nishank said India had been a world leader in the past, which guided other countries in the spheres of knowledge and spirituality. He said only the Indian philosophy had aimed at welfare of all. Indian values were so high that welfare of the entire world and the environment were desired and prayed for. Shri Nishank was also honoured with another award by Citizen Council of Uttarakhand at a function held in Dehradun on January 6. First woman IPS of the country Smt. Kiran Bedi was also honoured on the occasion.
Meanwhile, Telugu and Tamil translations of Dr Nishak'sbooks were released at the inaugural ceremony of a three-day seminar held in Chennai on January 5 at the University of Madras. By Ravindra Saini
