Balraj Puri nominated for Indira Gandhi Award

Noted journalist, writer and human rights activist Balraj Puri has been nominated for the
prestigious Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration.

"The 24th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for the year 2008 has been awarded to Balraj Puri, an eminent journalist of Jammu and Kashmir for his yeoman work in promoting and preserving the spirit of national integration in the country," a statement by the Congress said.

The award was instituted by the Congress party in its centenary year to give recognition to outstanding contribution o the cause of national integration and understanding by
individuals or institutions.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi will give the award, comprising a citation and cash of Rsfive lakh, to Puri on the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi on October 31. The 81-year-old was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2005.

Former recipients of the award include Aruna Asaf Ali, Bharat Scouts and Guides, P N Haksar, M S Subbulakshmi, Rajiv Gandhi (posthumous), Sardar Beant Singh (posthumous), A P J Abdul Kalam, Shankar Dayal Sharma, Satish Dhawan, Shyam Benegal, Mahasweta Devi, Javed Akhtar and Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, Indore.