GUWAHATI, Oct 23 - The Sixth Sadin-Pratidin Achievers Award was presented today at a function at Sriamanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra in the presence of several social leaders drawing from different spheres of the State�s social spectrum.
Every year, the Sadin-Pratidin group award is conferred on persons who have excelled in their chosen area of activities ranging from literature to corporate, and from culture to sports.
This time the Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on eminent writer-intellectual Homen Borgohain.
The ceremony was attended by Governor Prof Jagadish Mukhi and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal while former President Pranab Mukherjee joined with a video link due to his indisposition.
Addressing the occasion, Mukherjee lauded the Sadin-Pratidin group and its group chairman Jayanta Barua for recognising the talents of Assam through the award. He recalled the emergence of the house from the family of Hemchadra Barua who had a century ago given Assam and Assamese its first dictionary Hemkosh.
Praising the awardees and Homen Borgohain in particular for his contribution to the field of journalism, Mukherjee went on to describe how media has been playing the role of nation-building over the decades in India and urged it to remain watchdog for a healthy democracy.
Governor Prof Mukhi lauded the Sadin-Pratidin group for felicitating people from all walks of life every year.
�Today, media has been well-established. We are living in an era of information technology where media plays a vital role in influencing and changing social and political values. As we all know that media is considered to be the fourth pillar in a democratic country and it maintains a balance between the other three pillars, which are Judiciary, Executive and Legislative. Therefore, it is very important for all the media houses to be responsible in what message they are delivering. Sadin Pratidin is such a group who has been very bold in showing the right and wrong to the people of Assam, unbiased,� he said.
Chief Minister Sonowal in his speech appreciated the Sadin-Praditin group for �its unbiased reportage over the decade� and urged media to be a positive watchdog for the government.
Earlier, chairman of the Sadin-Pratidin group Jayanta Barua welcomed the invitees, awardees and the dignitaries.
The Achievers awardees-2019 include Lifetime Achievement Award winner Homen Borgohain, Sadin Journalism and Literature Award winner Shashi Sarma, Excellence in Art Award winner Dr Janak Jhankar Narzary, Excellence in Sports Award winners Lovlina Borgohain and Jamuna Boro, Excellence in Business Award winner Oja Group, Excellence in Social Service Award winner Patal Kanya Jamatia, Excellence in Corporate Award winner Ranjit Barthakur, Excellence in Culture Award winner Rima Das, Excellence in Music Award winner Kalpana Patowary, Excellence in Science and Innovation Award winner Dr Khiradhar Baruah, Excellence in Health Care Award winner Dr Tapan Kumar Saikia, Excellence in Public Service Award winner Ram Singh, and Special Appreciation of Jury Award winner Debabrata Rabha.
