This year’s Shri Guruji National Awards were presented to three luminaries which included Shri Madhukar Bhalchandra Kulkarni for community services, Shri Vedkumar Raghuttamdas Vedalankar for literary work and Panun Kashmir Movement for fighting for the cause of exiled Kashmiri Pandits. The awards were presented at a glittering function organised at Kanakveli in Konkan region of Maharashtra on February 27. The awards are presented by the RSS Jan Kalyan Samiti at the national level for exemplary contribution in various fields of national life. The concept of giving the award was started in 1996 in the memory of the second RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Guruji.
The award comprises of a shawl, cash of Rs 51,000, a memento, a coconut and a citation highlighting the achievements of the recipient. The function was presided over by Prof. Anirudh Deshpande, a well known educationist and Prant Karvyah of Konkan Prant Shri Arun Nalawade, a Marathi TV celebrity, was the guest of honour.
Receiving the award on behalf of Panun Kashmir, its president Shri Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo thanked the organisers and the people of Maharashtra for recognising the efforts made by the displaced community under the banner of Panun Kashmir. He appreciated the support and encouragement given by the people to the displaced community and particularly in the field of education. Shri Chrungoo made it clear that the issue of Kashmir and Kashmiri Pandits is a national issue and has been taken up by Panun Kashmir as a national mission for more than two decades of their exile. The other recipients also spoke on the occasion. The RSS Jankalyan Samiti conducts 1,468 service projects in Konkan, Western Maharashtra and Devgiri region of Maharashtra. It includes eight big and 13 small projects. (FOC)
