JAMMU: Famous Santoor Maestro & Music Composer Abhay Rustum Sopori has been awarded the prestigious Mahatma Gandhi Seva Medal by the Gandhi Global Family (GGF), which is United Nations Department of Global accredited Peace NGO in India, and propagates the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi among youth. GGF identifies the local peace messengers throughout the country and recognizes their efforts in promoting communal harmony & spreading interfaith beliefs. The NGO undertakes a wide range of social awareness programs in collaboration with the United Nations.
Mahatma Gandhi Seva Medal is the highest award given by GGF named after the Father of the Nation. Some of the previous notable recipients include Dalai Lama, US President Bill Clinton, President of India KR Narayanan, Assam Governor Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, Former Indian Army Chief and Arnunachal Pradesh Governor Joginder Jaswant Singh, Thai Monk Ven Phrarajabhavanavisudh, Secretary General, Saarclaw Hemant Batra and many other internationally renowned personalities who have worked enormously for the cause of peace.
The award was presented to Abhay Rustum Sopori for his contribution and promoting peace and ideology of Mahatma Gandhi through music by the Divisional Commissioner Jammu Sanjeev Verma, President GGF J&K Padmashri Dr. SP Varma, and senior members of GGF from across the country at the public function organized at Mubarak Mandi, Jammu attended by a large number of dignitaries including J&K Director General of Police Dilbag Singh thousands of followers of the Mahatma Gandhi.
Son of Music Legend Pandit Bhajan Sopori, Abhay is regarded as the son of soil and has the credit for creating a Cultural Revolution in Jammu and Kashmir bringing the youth together through music. His efforts and initiatives have been path breaking creating a new generation of music connoisseurs and bringing more recognition to the art and culture of the country. Regarded as a Cultural Icon of Jammu & Kashmir, Abhay has been instrumental in introducing ‘Cultural Policy’ in Jammu & Kashmir and also introducing music as a formal subject in schools & colleges.
Having performed all over the globe, he has always been in the forefront to raise funds and mobilize resources through his charity concerts for various medical and social causes and also catastrophes like Kashmir earthquake & J&K floods, etc. Abhay has significantly contributed in taking Indian music to young children in J&K. For his enormous contribution, Abhay has been honoured with many prestigious awards including the prestigious ‘Atal Shikhar Samman’ presented at the Parliament of India, ‘Dr. S. Radhakrishnan National Media Award’, ‘Pride of India Award’, ‘J&K Government Award’ - Highest Civilian Award of Jammu & Kashmir, ‘Best Citizens of India Award’, ‘Bharat Shiromani Award’, ‘Sangeet Natak Akademi’s first ‘Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar’, ‘Juenjo Korean International Heritage Award’, and many others. Abhay music for ‘Mahatma’, a film by Government of India on Mahatma Gandhi, was also presented at the ‘United Nations’ marking the first International Non-violence Day.