New Delhi: The fifth Ankit Junaid Social Harmony Award was given away to Vivek Mishra and Abdullah.

The award was instituted in memory of Hafiz Junaid and Ankit Saxena. Junaid was killed brutally on a train two days before Eid in June 2017 while Ankit was lynched in full public view in Delhi for loving a girl from a different faith in February 2018.

One of the awardees, Mishra, took part in the 'Citizen Satyagraha Padyatra' from Chaura Chauri in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi in 2021, carrying the message of peace in the society and creating public awareness against the conspiracy to propagate hate in the society by targeting a particular community. He drew inspiration from M.K. Gandhi, and was arrested by police during the course of the yatra in Gahzipur and Fatehpur. Mishra, who hails from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, graduated with an MA in Hindi Literature from Banaras Hindu University. Currently, he is associated with the 'Unite India campaign' to spread the message of unity and brotherhood against increasing violence, hatred, and fear in Purvanchal and across the country.

Abdullah, another awardee, is a religious scholar (aalim) from the famous Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur. He is closely associated with peace activist Vipin Kumar Tripathi's Sadbhav Mission, and also at an individual level, he has been working to propagate social harmony and to create awareness, particularly among youth. 

According to the organisers, the objective of the award is to sow and nurture seeds of communal harmony among the youth and to develop innovative ways to promote peace in society. Khudai Khidmatgar national leader Faisal Khan, who spoke at the event, said that the way to counter hate and communalism is by spreading peace and compassion in society, and there could be no better tribute to Ankit-Junaid, who fell for hate crimes.

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