The Quaide Milleth Educational and Social Trust (QUEST) has chosen veteran journalist N. Ram, Director, The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited, and Abusaleh Shariff, founder, Centre for Research and Debates in Development Policy (CRDDP), who previously served as the Member-Secretary of Justice Rajindar Sachar Committee, for the Quaide Milleth Award for Probity in Political/Public Life 2023.
Describing Mr. Ram as “a fearless journalist and a crusader for the preservation of secularism, pluralism, rule of law, and, above all, democracy in the country”, the trust, in a release, said his outstanding contributions met all the criteria set for the award.
Noting that Mr. Shariff was an acclaimed economist and former advisor to the Government of India in various capacities, the release said he had played an instrumental role in preparing the Sachar Committee report on the social, economic, and educational status of the Muslim community in India.
Previous recipients of the award, instituted in 2015, include Hamid Ansari, former Vice-President of India; Manik Sarkar, former Chief Minister of Tripura; veteran communist leaders R. Nallakannu and N. Sankaraiah; and activists Teesta Seetalvad and Aruna Roy.
