The Hindu : National : Indira Gandhi award presented

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Monday, Nov 01, 2004

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National

Indira Gandhi award presented

By Our Special Correspondent

The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, presenting the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration to veteran film-maker Shyam Benegal in New Delhi on Sunday. -- Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

NEW DELHI, OCT. 31. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, honoured film-maker, Shyam Benegal, with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration at a function here today.

Though Sonia Gandhi in her capacity as the Chairperson of the Award Advisory Committee was to have given away the 19th annual award, she persuaded the Prime Minister, who was present in his capacity as a member of the panel, to do the honour.

Vision for oneness

Mr. Benegal gets the award, which carries Rs. 1.51 lakhs in cash and a citation, for his "vision of the oneness of the Indian people, his deep humanism and his social concern".

Dr. Singh described Mr. Benegal as "one of the most distinguished, innovative and socially-conscious film-maker". All his films had strong messages strengthening the foundation of our national integration, he said.

Tribute to democracy

His statement that `as a film-maker what has always interested me is human rights' is a tribute to our democracy, the Prime Minister said, pointing out that his social concern had always been to uphold the rights of individual human beings as his films deal with "the problems of caste, economic and political oppression and give us hope by showing that in the end Right has a chance of winning over Might."

Women empowerment

"The empowerment of women has been an important underlying theme in almost all his films. In `Ankur', in `Manthan', in `Bhumika' and even in `Mandi', Benegal's women were intelligent, powerful, purposeful, determined, yet humane and compassionate, like the person whose memory we commemorate today", he said.

Dr. Singh said that Mr. Benegal's contribution to the empowerment of the Indian woman, which would also have made Indiraji proud of "our" choice of today's awardee.

Dr. Singh said Indira Gandhi laid the foundation for the economic, social, cultural and emotional integration of the country.

Sonia's homage

Paying homage to the late Prime Minister, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi said she left her imprint in every walk of life, and this had "immortalised" her in world history. Indiraji was more concerned about the survival of India as a nation rather than hers, she said quoting one of the former Prime Minister's last statements.

In his acceptance address, Mr. Benegal, who made the "Making of the Mahatma", decried the `majoritarian impulses' in society and asserted that the making of the Indian nation began with the non-violent mass movement led by Mahatma Gandhi.

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