Six social scientists get first Amartya Sen awards

The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) on Monday announced the inaugural Amartya Sen Awards 2012,recognising the contribution of social scientists towards advancement of knowledge in the fields of political science,sociology,law,geography,economics and education. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen gave away the awards.

The six awardees were president of Centre for Policy Research and The Indian Express columnist Pratap Bhanu Mehta for Political Science,Associate Professor at Hyderabad University’s School of Economics Vamsicharan Vakulbharanam for his work on agrarian distress and economy,Professor at Centre for Studies in Social Systems,JNU,Surinder Jodhka for his seminal work on bonded labour in agriculture,sociologist and legal researcher Kalpana Kannabiran,who is director of Council for Social Development,Hyderabad,for her work in the field of law,Prof Sudhanshu Bhushan of the National University of Educational Planning and Administration for his research in education,and Associate Professor at Delhi University Anu Kapur for her work in Geography.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta was applauded for his “seminal contribution to a comprehensive understanding of key social and political issues in contemporary India” and for valuable inquiries into the engagement between Indian social thought and political philosophy. “His prolific and brilliant newspaper columns mark him out as one of the truly outstanding public intellectuals of our times. He has also done extensive public policy work by engaging actively with the government,judiciary,universities and international development institutions,” ICSSR said.

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Mehta said the award was a great recognition for the community of social scientists.

Sen delivered the inaugural lecture on the occasion and pointed out that focus on education was central to a nation’s development and growth,but India appeared to have missed the point. “It is amazing how India seems to have missed it… even in 2013 half our women and a quarter of the men are illiterate,” he said.