When women first stepped out of the limitations of 'burkhas' and 'ghunghtas', men scorned them and barred their path. Today they have awards honoring them! Truly, mankind - and womankind - have come a long way. And among the organizations that pioneered this shift, MSDST merits a special mention. The Manava Seva Dharma Samvardhini Trust was founded in the year 1999 by three top ranking executives, J Jayaraman, C S Pani, and P N Devrajan, all from industry.
The objective of this trust is to identify, acclaim and award women possessing leadership qualities and engaged in social service aimed at children and women in acute distress. These women take care of the needy and the battered in a spirit of love and joy.
The trust instituted the Sadguru Gnananand National Award in 1999, and first presented it in Chennai on 10th January 2000 to four female social workers. And for the current year, it has planned to give the 2nd Sadguru Gnananand National Awards at Chennai and Hyderabad respectively to seven women belonging to five different states, Uttar Pradesh (one award), Andhra Pradesh (one award), Karnataka (three awards), Tamil Nadu (one award), and Maharastra (one award).
At Hyderabad, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Dr Rangarajan, will be the chief guest, and will present the awards at a function to be held on 8th February 2001. Dr Anji Reddy, Chairman, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, will preside over the function. Other prominent speakers include Swamy Nityanand, Dr Thakur V Hari Prasad (President, Thakur Hari Prasad Institute of Research and Rehabilitation for the Mentally Handicapped), T L Sankar, IAS (Principal, Administrative Staff College Of India) and C S Pani.
Please contact Mallika Krishna at 651-1661 / 330-8613 for further details.