KVP Awardees 2010-11

Professional Citizen KVP - Advertising

Sachin Yashwant Shigwan

Sachin Yashwant Shigwan is currently a business partner for Woo Advertising and socially he is handling the post of District Community Service Director in Rotaract District 3140 Organization (Mumbai, Navi Mumbai & Thane). He is a visionary who is working for development of youth and building social values and responsibilities within today's generation. He is a mentor for a youth organization called Rotaract Club of Pathfinders Mumbai North End, from last 7 years. Born and brought up in middle class family in metropolitan city of Mumbai, he still has the courage to gather youth and work at Adivasi Pada's at Dahanu, near Mumbai. Now, with a few of his young friends, he is planning to work on Rural Solar Project. He is undertaking many community activities like working on project of Village Adoption by Rotary Club of Mumbai, Working on Social Entrepreneurship Project for Youth based on Rural Solar Equipment Project. He has also worked for N.S.S on Social Entrepreneurship Project for Youth based on water harvesting and rural infrastructure. He strongly feels that today for social justice we have to work on right education to the children. He has won the award of "Best Youth of the Year Award 2004-05" from Rotary Club of Mumbai North End, "Best Rylarian (Participant) Award 2006-07" In International RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) 2006 held at Karjat by Rotary International District 3140 & "Club Mentor" from Rotaract Club of Pathfinders Mumbai North End.

Professional Citizen KVP - Engineer

Dr. Chinny Krishna

Dr. S. Chinny Krishna, currently the managing director of ASPICK Engineering P. Ltd., had worked as a research scientist in New York, after which he went on to become a Member of the faculty at Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai. Mr. Krishna has actively worked for animal care and welfare throughout his life. He was the pioneer in suggesting catch-spay-vaccinate and release as the method to control rabies and the street dog population, the program was known as Animal Birth Control - Anti-Rabies (ABC-AR). With no government funding, Dr. Chinny Krishna carried out the programme with funds collected from donors and his own personal funds. By introducing ABC-AR, Dr. Chinny Krishna has reduced the cruelties and the threat of unjust killing meted out to dogs and improved human health by removing the threat of rabies, which has caused the death of countless people. Dr. Krishna has also won many award for selflessly working towards animal welfare, some of these award are Jeev Daya Puraskar from Government of India in 2000, Life Time Achievement Award of the Venu Menon Animal Allies Foundation - 2001, Humane Society International Award (USA) - 2005, North Shore Animal League Award - 2005.

Art Citizen KVP - Artist

Sanjay Austa

Sanjay Austa is a documentary photographer who began his career as a journalist. He covered virtually everything ranging from politics to page-three parties. But it was in human- interest stories where his heart lay. After a few years of writing he turned a full time photographer carrying his passion for human-interest issues. As a photographer, he focused on those issues which were social, economical and criminal injustices of a very large scale and documented them through photo-essays. Over the years he has covered scores of such issues including isolated incidents of brutality and injustice. He is currently documenting the life of elderly sex-workers in India depicting the neglected miserable lives sex-workers live after they cross 40. He is also documenting the lives of Indian gays and lesbians, in an attempt to find if the recent decriminalization of homosexuality has changed their life. His other project is on Indian artisans, where he is documenting how globalization is pushing the artisans out of their traditional occupations. Sanjay documented the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims which focused on victims who were in their mother's womb, few days old, or school going toddlers when their fathers, uncles or siblings were butchered in Delhi during the riots. His photo-essay ``From Lost Childhood to Uncertain Future'', focuses on how the riots affected these children and what they grew up into, 26 years after the tragedy. His first assignment as a photographer took him on an adventurous two-month expedition to Kanchenjuga, where he documented the Indian Army's climb to the summit. Since then he has shot myriad subjects in diverse geographical climes, including life in the arctic and wildlife in the African savannas. He has also done picture books on Indian Monuments for Penguin Books. His ventures require high sensitivity and perseverance, which he displays profoundly.

Young Creative Citizen KVP

Dr. Gaurav Chhabra

Dr. Gaurav Chhabra is a Chandigarh based independent Social activist and the face of Citizen Activism in the City. Known for his creative and innovative ways of taking up local issues and fighting back corrupt practices in governance, he strongly believes in direct on-ground actions. He believes that there should be a scope of citizen participation and involvement, only then a movement can gain momentum and have a true impact. He graduated in Medical sciences and then infused his childhood passion for Visual arts into the field of health and environment. He started practicing Public Health Communications and Citizen Activism through an independent non-profit initiative, Humlog. He is now preparing to take the initiative of promotion of citizen activism at a national level through nation-wide campaigns.

Fashion Citizen KVP - Designer

Sanjana Jon

Sanjana Jon has been a socially motivated person since her school and college days and used to provide food and clothing to the underprivileged kids and also read for the blind students. She has collected and sent clothes for Leh and consistently distribute clothes for underprivileged kids and families. She has been creating awareness about various issues such as AIDS Awareness and HIV testing and Save the Girl Child by involving celebrities like bollywood stars and Salman Khan has been a strong force & support in the charitable projects. She has also brought 4 reigning Miss Universe over the years for the same. She tied up with United Nations and held a press conference in the New York headquarters. In India, she worked with CARE International in hopes of a united front to combat the increasing pandemic of AIDS. The Sanjana Jon AIDS Awareness Tour toured most major Indian cities. She has also organized events to fight for Truth and Justice against racism with various models and celebrities and initiated several promotional campaigns in NY and LA against racism. She organized protests against racism in Bombay and Delhi and put together a show for Save the Girl Child against female infanticide with 16 celebrity siblings. Recently, she organized a Sanjana Jon show and project in Tihar with inmates- for them, by them and of them and tried to create a constructive creative training program to make the inmates a more resourceful progressive part of the community. She is also working on all human rights issues with Asian American Human Rights Watch. Currently she is working on a document feature in Broon Hatya.

Courage of Conviction KVP

Neerja Bhanot

Born on September 7, 1963, Neerja Bhanot grew to be a person of many talents. Her striking beauty led her to become a model widely known through magazines, newspapers and television. Her intelligence, wit, grace and charm was elegantly woven together. Upon completion of her education at St. Xaviers College, Bombay in March 1985, she joined the Pan Am family in the same year. Her special leadership qualities were quickly recognized and she was elevated to the position of Purser on April 1, 1986. She easily won the love and respect of her fellow crew members and passengers alike. Neerja was the senior purser aboard Pan Am Clipper 73, which was hijacked by armed terrorists at Karachi Airport on September 5, 1986. Her gallant actions aboard the aircraft were nothing less than heroic as she, along with nearly four hundred other passengers and crew members was held at gunpoint, constantly under the threat of death, for sixteen long hours. Setting aside all concern for her personal safety and well-being, she identified herself to the terrorists as the crew member in-charge of Clipper 73. Her action to take responsibility for the situation at hand was in the highest traditions of excellence and service to her fellow man. Throughout the ordeal, Neerja stood as a symbol of leadership. She provided assistance to passengers at every juncture, giving special attention to small children and elderly passengers. In the final hour, she gave her own life while shielding three small children from the gunfire of the terrorists. Her heroic actions were clearly responsible for the saving of hundreds of lives. She is deeply mourned and sadly missed and will always be remembered in thoughts and prayers, her actions will live on as a testament to the highest ideals of human spirit.

KarmaVeer CHAKRAS 2010-11

Shahid Siddiqui

Shahid Siddiqui is a journalist and a social activist. He is currently working with IBN7and is also associated with Association For Community Research And Action (ACRA), which aims at enabling communities to have a say in the decisions which affect their lives. Under the ACRA banner he has been researching on social issues and putting pressure on government missionaries to act. He was recently involved in the Dengue Menace and Big awareness campaign and he managed to involve MCD to make people aware about the disease. He has also motivated people to come forward to offer relief to flood victims in remote areas of Bihar.

Dr. Kuresh Zorabi

Dr. Kuresh Zorabi is an eye surgeon and one of the survivor and witness to the whole 26/ 11 episode in Mumbai. He was at the fore-front for saving lives of the locals. He was the one who had taken charge of rescuing people before the forces could set in. He had been instrumental in getting a heritage status for the fire temples in Mumbai which safeguarded them against the builder lobby. He has been working for the Parsi community and tried and stopped sex discrimination. He is also affiliated to the (N.C.P.) as  a Maharashtra Pradesh  Pratineedi and had contested the BMC  Elections in the year 2007  on a NCP ticket  from the most prestigious corporation ward no. 225 of Colaba Constituency. He had also stalled the election counting process for 4 hours due to election process being faulty as the EVMS (electronic voting machines) seal was tampered with and he raised a serious objection for the same.

Ritu Raj Kalra

Ritu Raj Kalra has been a socially conscious person since his school days. He used to help domestic servants with a way to live a better life. At the young age of 15 years, he pledged to donate his eyes. He conducted free literacy classes for the children of poor families for two months, collected donations at his college campus for Latur earthquake victims. He had been instrumental in fighting corruption, promoting discipline and fighting the illegal activities, around his residence. He has pledged to fight for the unprivileged and seek justice for all.

Prof.Raghu Raman

Prof. V Raghu Raman is an academician by profession. He is currently posted as a senior faculty at Sultanate of Oman, under the Ministry of manpower. He has been helping people in need on a continuous basis and provides training & grooming to people who are willing to learn but cannot afford to pay on a regular basis. He provided a lot of support to a family in Chennai who almost lost everything in the torrential rains. He volunteers for various causes including health for the elderly and orphanages by providing his services, money, clothes & groceries etc as per the requirement. He has been involved with various individuals & organizations in assisting people in all possible ways to help make a difference to their lives.