KVP Awards

The “KarmaVeer Puraskaar (KVP)” is the National Awards for Social Justice and Citizen Action instituted by the people sector with various partner organisations, citizens at large and media supporters. The awards are a platform for people to come together to share discuss their views on socio-political issues, be it about poverty alleviation, marginalization, communal issues, HIV, Disability, climate change, electoral reforms or humane capitalism.

The awards are given every year on the 26th day of November, the day India adopted its constitutional pledge as a REPUBLIC in 1949. These awards are given to recognize, to encourage, celebrate and inspire citizen’s action for social justice. We need to recognize real life unsung heroes who believe ‘It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness’ and have walked that extra mile to “Be the change they want to see in this world”. Various of our past awardees have been featured in documentaries and articles on Discovery Channel, National Geographic, BBC, TIME and gone on to win global fellowships, awards and become ambassadors of international and UN organisations.

The idea is to nominate and select citizens from all sectors. These awards are given to Individuals, and not to any organisation or company. Our KVP Awardees practice true democracy by fighting for social justice and value the Power of ONE to light the candle and dispel the darkness. They are caring and concerned citizens who have gone beyond business as usual, to be and lead the change with an “I CAN” attitude, by taking stands and speaking out against social wrongs.

Our past Awardees include Dr. Verghese Kurien, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan and Late Major General. R.S. Pannu for the Lifetime Achievement KarmaVeer Puraskaar and various other eminent and little known common citizens (refer awardees list on website), who have performed extraordinary and exemplary tasks to promote social justice through citizen action