Kabir Puraskar Scheme

What is the Kabir Puraskar Scheme?

The Kabir Puraskar is a national award instituted by the Government of India in 1990 and administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs scheme document, the award recognises acts of physical and moral courage and humanity shown by members of one community, caste or ethnic group in saving the lives and property of members of another community, caste or ethnic group during communal riots, caste conflicts or ethnic clashes.

When it was first instituted in 1990, the award was given in three grades carrying cash amounts of Rs 20,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000. The scheme was later amended, and the cash amounts and eligibility criteria were revised. Under the current, revised scheme the award carries a cash amount of Rs 2,00,000 for Grade I, Rs 1,00,000 for Grade II and Rs 50,000 for Grade III, together with a certificate and a suitable citation.

The essential condition is danger to the rescuer. The courage and promptitude shown in saving the life and property of a member of another community must involve a danger to the life, body or property of the rescuer, or of the rescuer's family members. The Kabir Puraskar is therefore not a general social service award; it specifically honours those who put themselves at risk to protect people from a different community, caste or ethnic group.

Key features of the Kabir Puraskar

• A national award of the Ministry of Home Affairs, instituted in 1990.
• Three grades; Grade I, Grade II and Grade III, with a cash award of Rs 2,00,000, Rs 1,00,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.
• The cash award is non-recurring (paid once for a given act).
• Announced on 2 October each year and published in the official gazette.
• No fixed number of awards; States and UTs may recommend any number of eligible persons.

Who is eligible for the Kabir Puraskar?

A person can be honoured if:

• The nominee is an Indian citizen of either sex, in any walk of life.
• The nominee displayed conspicuous physical or moral courage in saving the life and property of members of another community during communal riots, of another caste during caste conflicts, or of another ethnic group during ethnic clashes.
• The act involved a genuine danger to the rescuer's own life, body or property, or to that of the rescuer's family members.

A person cannot receive the award if:

• The nominee is a member of the Armed Forces, Police Forces or a recognised fire service, or a government servant, and the act performed falls within the sphere of their official duty. (Such personnel may still qualify for acts outside their official duty.)
• The nominee has already received another award or citation for the same act: in that case they are ordinarily not eligible for the Kabir Puraskar.

Because the award recognises a specific act of courage, there is no application that an individual member of the public can file to obtain a personal benefit. The route is a nomination raised and recommended by the State Government or Union Territory Administration.

How the grade of the award is decided

The Ministry of Home Affairs document prescribes three sets of criteria that the Screening Committee uses to decide the grade:

• Grade I, for the most conspicuous acts of physical or moral courage under circumstances of very grave danger to the rescuer's life, or an act resulting in the death or permanent incapacitation of the rescuer or a family member, while saving the life and property of members of another community, caste or ethnic group.
• Grade II — for conspicuous acts of courage or promptitude under circumstances of danger to the rescuer's life that result in bodily injury.
• Grade III, for acts of physical or moral courage and promptitude in saving the life and property of members of another community, caste or ethnic group.

It is left entirely to the Screening Committee to decide the category of the award on the merits of each individual act of courage as reported by the State Government or Union Territory Administration.

What documents are required for a Kabir Puraskar nomination?

The nomination form also asks whether the nominee has been involved in any civil or criminal activity and invites details of any other work done in the past for the promotion of communal harmony and national integration.

How to apply for the Kabir Puraskar

There is no online or self-nomination facility for the Kabir Puraskar. The award is processed entirely through State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. The steps are:

1. Report the act of courage to the district administration or the State Home Department, so that the State Government or UT Administration is aware of the incident during the communal, caste or ethnic violence.
2. The State Government or UT Administration prepares the nomination in the prescribed proforma (Annexure-I), attaching a detailed note on the act, three passport-size photographs and its own recommendation.
3. The State / UT forwards the recommendation to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The scheme allows any number of persons who fulfil the criteria to be recommended.
4. The proposals are placed before the Screening Committee, the Union Home Secretary, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau and the Secretary of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which decides the grade.
5. The Committee's recommendations are placed before the Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister for approval, and the award is announced on 2 October.

How the award is presented

The Kabir Puraskar may be given by the Central Government and presented to the recipients by the Prime Minister at a function organised in New Delhi. The cash award is a one-time, non-recurring payment, and the names of those on whom the award is conferred are published in the official gazette. There is no bar on a person receiving the award a second time for a separate act on a subsequent occasion.

Help and where to raise a nomination

Because the Kabir Puraskar has no public application portal, the correct point of contact is the State Home Department or the district administration, which raises the nomination on behalf of a deserving citizen. The scheme itself is governed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and its official document is published on mha.gov.in. Citizens should be wary of any person or website claiming to "register" them for the Kabir Puraskar in exchange for a fee, no such registration exists.