Union Government (Ministry of Culture) has announced winners of Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony for year 2014, 2015 and 2016. The awardees were selected by award jury headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and included Chief Justice of India Justice (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami and national vice president of BJP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.
Awardees are
2014: Rajkumar Singhajit Singh. He is doyen of Manipuri dance. He is also teacher, performer and choreographer.
2015: Chhayanaut. It is cultural organization of Bangladesh established in 1961. It has played leading role in promoting Tagore’s works in Bengali culture, music and literature not only within Bangladesh, but all across the world.
2016: Ram Vanji Sutar. He is renowned sculptor. His first notable work was the 45-feet Chambal monument at the Gandhi Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh. He is also recipient of Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony
It is annual award instituted by Government of India in 2011 as part of commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The award is given for cultural harmony and carries monetary amount of Rs. 1 crore, citation in scroll, plaque as well as exquisite traditional handicraft or handloom item. The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or sex. It was conferred for first time on Indian Sitar Maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar in 2012 and second time on Shri Zubin Mehta in 2013.
