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’.