Catholic priest selected for national human rights award
BANGALORE, India (APEN) – Father P J Jacob, social worker and human rights activist, has been selected for this year’s M A Thomas National Human Rights Award
A three-member jury named Father P J Jacob for the award on 25 June.
The Vigil India Movement (VIM) based here started the award to honor Reverend M A Thomas of the Mar Thoma Church who died in 1993 at the age of 80.
The award comprising a citation and a cash prize of 100,000 rupees (US$ 2174) will be given to Father Jacob at a function to be held here in August.
Reverend Thomas was an ecumenical leader who founded VIM and the Ecumenical Christian Centre in Bangalore.
He was president of the Association of Christian Institute of Social Concern in Asia and the India chapter of the Amnesty International.
Father Jacob of the Belgaum Catholic diocese in Karnataka is the founder of Vimochana (liberation) Development Society, which works among the poor in the northern part of the Karnataka state.
According to VIM, Father Jacob has “contributed immensely in the field of social justice, peace, education and socio-economic empowerment and consistently promoted and protected the rights of the people for the last 45 years.”
He has established a number of schools and colleges which provides free and quality education for the poor and the downtrodden.
Jacob is a former member of the Karnataka legislative assembly.
