NOTES

India's Bharat Vatwani,

Sonam Wangchuk among

2018 Ramon Magsaysay Award

winners

MAGSAYSAY AWARD

•The Ramon Magsaysay Award was created in 1957,

the year the Philippines lost in a plane crash a

President who was well-loved for his simplicity and

humility, his passion for justice, particularly for the

poor, and his advancement of human dignity.

RAMON MAGSAYSAY

• The seventh President of the Philippines

• Life - (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957)

• He was the first Philippine President born during the 20th

century and the first to be born after the Spanish colonial era.

• The Philippines was a Spanish colony for 333 years from

1521–1898. It began when Ferdinand Magellan a European

explorer arrived in the Philippines during his expedition in

service of the King of Spain.

THE GOLDEN YEARS

•Magsaysay's administration was considered one of the

cleanest and most corruption-free in modern Philippines

history; the period of his presidency is often cited as the

Philippines's "Golden Years".

• Trade and industry flourished, the Philippine military was at

its prime, and the country gained international recognition in

sports, culture, and foreign affairs. The Philippines placed

second on a ranking of Asia's clean and well-governed

countries.

1957 CRASH OF A DOUGLAS C-47 PLANE NAMED "MT. PINATUBO"

•Killed the 7th President of the Philippines, Ramon

Magsaysay, and 24 other passengers.

RAMON MAGSAYSAY• The Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia's highest honour till date is given to

celebrate greatness of spirit and transformative leadership.

• It was established in 1957 by trustees of the New York City based Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Philippine government in the memory of Philippines’ third President Ramon Magsaysay who had died in air disaster in March 1957.

• It is awarded annually to individuals or organizations from Asia region for their altruistic and philanthropic service. It carries Medallion bearing the likeness of the late President Ramon Magsaysay, cash prize and a certificate.

THE AWARDS WERE GIVEN IN SIX CATEGORIES, FIVE OF WHICH WERE DISCONTINUED IN 2009:

•Government Service (1958–2008)

•Public Service (1958–2008)

•Community Leadership (1958–2008)

• Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts

(1958–2008)

•Peace and International Understanding (1958–2008)

•Emergent Leadership (2001– )

•Uncategorized (2009– )

THE AWARD

•The awardees receive a certificate, a medallion

bearing the likeness of the late President Ramon

Magsaysay, and a cash prize. (USD 50,000)

NOTES

•Some of the prominent Indian personalities to

receive the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay

award are: Kiran Bedim, Baba Amte, Vinoba

Bhave, Verghese Kurien, Arvind Kejriwal, R.K

Laxman, C.D. Deshmukh and T.N. Seshan.

TWO INDIANS

• Two Indians, namely, Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk on

July 26, 2018 won the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Asian

version of the Nobel Prize.

WINNERS

•Bharat Vatwani: He is a psychiatrist who works for

mentally-ill people living on the streets in Mumbai. The

award recognizes his courage and compassion in

embracing India’s mentally-afflicted destitute and his

dedication to work of restoring and affirming human

dignity of even most ostracized.

•The Shraddha Rehabilitation Foundation

WINNERS

• Sonam Wangchuk: He is educational reformer from

Ladakh. In 1988, he had founded Students’ Education and

Cultural Movement of Ladakh to coach poor Ladakhi

students.

• The award recognizes his uniquely systematic, collaborative

and community-driven reform of learning systems in remote

Ladakh region which has helped to improve life opportunities

of youths. He is widely regarded as inspiration for Aamir

Khan’s character, Phunsuk Wangdu in the film ‘3 Idiots’.