Ahmedabad: Suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was on Monday conferred the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice for 2012.
"We are today delivering the 5th Mother Teresa Award for social justice to Sanjiv Bhatt, who stood against communal forces to ensure the protection of the vulnerable and insecure minorities," Harmony Foundation president Dr Abraham Mathai said while delivering the award. "Harmony Foundation is delighted to felicitate Sanjiv Bhatt with the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice, 2012," Mathai said.
Bhatt, while thanking Harmony Foundation for choosing him for the award, also expressed gratitude towards his wife and children and dedicated the award to his mother, who passed away recently.
"I would not have taken the stand, which I will keep taking on, without the support of my wife, daughter and son," he said. "I am deeply humbled by the award which I would also like to take on behalf of all the people who are still awaiting justice. At this moment I would like to assure that the struggle is still on with the same vigour," Bhatt added.
Since Bhatt could not be present to collect the award in person on November 28, 2012, at a specially held ceremony in Mumbai, he was presented the honour here today in the presence of Father Cedric Prakash and sisters from the Missionaries of Charity.
Other recipients of this prestigious award in the past have included Dalai Lama, former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed, former Pakistan minister Dr Ansar Burney and Baroness Caroline Cox, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords in the UK.
PTI