14 February 2024
The Danish Siddiqui Freedom Award, given to veteran academician and activist Ram Puniyani in 2023, will be returned, he announced on Friday, in protest of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary’s decision to team up with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“Chaudhary Charan Singh has been happily awarded Bharat Ratna. In turn, Jayant Chaudhary is joining NDA (Modi). I am deeply pained by JC’s decision to join NDA. In protest, to show my anguish, I am returning the Danish Siddiqui prize given to me by JC’s Kisan Trust,” Puniyani wrote on X.
Puniyani is president of the Executive Council of Center for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) and participates in human rights campaigns and actions against Hindutva extremism in India. In 2023, the Kisan Trust awarded him the “Life Time Achievement Award” in recognition of his efforts to uphold social peace and protect human rights.
Prof. Puniyani, on his decision to return the award, said, “On November 15, Jayant Chaudhary, Yogendra Yadav, and Manoj Kumar Jha attended an award celebration in Delhi. I was unaware of the organization presenting me with the Danish Siddiqui Freedom Award, but I accepted it because the RLD chairman had approached me previously and I had heard of Chaudhary Charan Singh, who is without question the best in the field. Jayant’s remarks at the award ceremony were excellent. I had the impression that certain individuals would oppose the forces of the community. Jayant is saying the exact opposite thing today to what he did at the award function.”
