Amit Shah Confers Lokmanya Tilak National Award on NSA Ajit Doval

PUNE, Aug 1: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday presented the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award to National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval in Pune in recognition of his outstanding contribution to India’s national security. The Tilak Smarak Trust, which instituted the award, selected the 81-year-old Doval for his distinguished service and significant role in strengthening the country’s security framework. Doval has handled several crucial assignments in sensitive regions, including Mizoram, Sikkim, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, besides serving in diplomatic postings at Indian missions in Islamabad and London. He is India’s longest-serving National Security Advisor and has also served as the country’s Special Representative for the India-China boundary talks. Doval is widely credited with playing a key role in the diplomatic efforts that helped resolve the Doklam standoff. Instituted in 1983, the Lokmanya Tilak National Award is presented annually on August 1, the death anniversary of freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the nation’s progress and development. The first recipient of the award was veteran socialist leader S.M. Joshi. Over the years, it has been conferred on several eminent personalities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, and Indira Gandhi, former President Pranab Mukherjee, and veteran politician Sharad Pawar. Earlier in the day, Amit Shah also paid floral tributes to noted Marathi social reformer and folk poet Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe on his birth anniversary at Sarasbaug in Pune. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, along with other dignitaries, joined the Home Minister in paying homage to the legendary Dalit writer and social reformer.