Isa Award: Recognizing Humanitarians

Watching the presentation of ‘Isa Award - for Service to Humanity’ on Wednesday, at the Isa Cultural Centre in Juffair, was a special pleasure and privilege.

Dr. Achyuta Samanta received, from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, this special award for his pioneering humanitarian work, particularly among tribal people of Odisha state of India.

He was awarded a Royal Certificate of Merit, a 21 K gold medal and a prize of one million US dollars, in the presence of the Prime Minister, the Crown prince, and almost all cabinet ministers.

And watching the ceremony, I felt a unique thrill; mainly because the International Jury had chosen a compatriot of mine for this rare recognition “for his professionalism and leadership in humanitarian work”.

This was a recognition, which, I believe, came very late for Dr Samanta, like a similar one did for Anti child-labour activist Kailash Satyarthi of India, who had shared the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with the girls-education activist Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan (who survived a bullet to her head, fired by Taliban in 2012).

There is an old saying that “a prophet is never respected in his own village”.

Perhaps, proving it right, ironically, both Kailash Satyarthi and Dr. Achyuta Samanta, were accorded huge international awards, first from outside India, before being honourably recognized by the Indian government itself.

It is amazing to see individuals like these who, with selfless sacrificial attitude, go forward to make a difference in the lives of the underprivileged of the society.

In fact, as soon as he received the award, Dr. Samanta said he would use the money to setup a school in the name of Shaikh Isa in Odisha.

He also added that the award would be a catalyst for him to carry on his humanitarian work in serving the needy.

That aside, I felt that we must appreciate the dedication of the International Jury, and the commitment of the Award Board of Trustees under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, who went about the laborious task of shortlisting and deciding on that “one humanitarian” who should be given the prize this year.

This biannual “Isa Award” for humanitarian service, was instituted in 2009 by His Majesty the King, and this awardee, the unassuming, simply, and down-to-earth man called Dr. Samata is its second recipient, after a Malaysian humanitarian Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, who received the 2013 Isa Award.

Did you know that Dr. Samanta dedicated himself to bettering the lives of the socio-economically challenged indigenous tribal community of Odisha?

Did you know that Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, which he setup, provides free education and free lodging and boarding facilities to tribal children? And that it currently has 25,000 children?

Did you know that the boys of Kalinga Institute Of Social Sciences made history when they defeated the formidable South African team 19-5 at the finals of the Rugby World Championship in London in 2006? And that this feat was repeated in Australia when the team won 6 out of the eight matches?

Such is the spirit of transformational leadership that Dr. Samanta exudes.

It is obvious therefore that the choice of the jury in seeking out this particular awardee who is worthy of Isa Award is commendable.

Most importantly, it is obvious that the government of Bahrain is keen on recognizing outstanding humans who raise the society to a higher plane.