Times NOW’s Amazing Indians awards for people who overcame supreme odds

NEW DELHI: Dinesh Dwivedi is a 11-year-old boy wiz who has never been to school, but coaches more than 200 engineering aspirants to crack competitive entrance exams. Franz Gastler is an American who is inspiring village girls in Jharkhand through his football academy. Aditya Nataraj is a young MBA from Insead, Paris, whose non-profit organisation has trained 800 principals to be better school leaders. Shafiq Khan rescues sex slaves and trafficked brides. V Venkatraman provides a wholesome lunch for .`1 to poor patients who come to Erode government hospital. Khabar Lahariya is a newspaper in rural UP that trains Dalit women to write, report and highlight their issues.

These men and projects were among the 13 winners of Times NOW’s Amazing Indians awards that celebrated people who overcame supreme odds to help others, at a high-profile award ceremony on Monday.

“I commend Times NOW for instituting these awards. Locating the recipients would have been a journey of discovery for the jury. By bestowing recognition on these achievers, we are reinforcing our faith in the innate goodness of human beings and their capacity to do good to others,” Vice-President Hamid Ansari said during his keynote address. The awards in various categories, such as Grassroots Soldiers, Urban Crusaders, Eco Saviours, Incredible Innovators and Indians at Heart, were given away by Cabinet ministers and senior politicians. Telecom minister Kapil Sibal, external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, I&B minister Manish Tewari, parliamentary affairs minister Rajiv Shukla, youth affairs and sports minister Jitendra Singh and CPM leader Sitaram Yechury gave away the awards at a packed event.

“There are many awards and conclaves, but I find the thinking behind Amazing Indians to be unique and I think this recognition will help the awardees become role models in society,” senior BJP leader LK Advani said. The Amazing Indians series was launched on Times NOW in September 2012 and showcased 56 achievers from across the country. A jury comprising actress Sharmila Tagore, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and surgeon Dr Devi Shetty, among others, picked the winners in 13 categories.

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid requested that an award category for amazing politicians also be created. His ministerial colleague Rajiv Shukla seconded the demand. “Today’s context unfortunately has more than its due share of negativity. When we hear these amazing Indians, we realize that the glass is half full, and not half empty,” Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd CEO Ravi Dhariwal said.