SAMIR ACHARYA ANNUAL MEMORIAL AWARD

The Samir Acharya Annual Memorial Award and Lecture has been created to honour the life and work of Mr. Samir Acharya, who had been a crusader for the Andaman & Nicobar Islands’ ecology and tribal communities till his last breath on 16th Oct. 2020. After his demise, Mr. Acharya's family and friends decided to honor his life and work through this annual award, which will identify and recognize deserving individuals and organizations doing exemplary work on issues of coastal communities and ecosystems that he held so dear. The award has been opened for nomination from across the country.

In his three decades of activism in the islands, Mr. Acharya inspired and educated many on the importance of conserving the fragile ecology of the islands and the need to protect the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of the archipelago. One of his major achievements as the Founder and Secretary of Society for Andaman & Nicobar Ecology (SANE) was the Landmark Supreme Court Ruling of 2002 in response to a petition by SANE, Kalpavriksh and BNHS.

Mr. Acharya was born on 16th February 1944 in Balurghat, West Bengal, to Shri. Nisheet Ranjan Acharya and Smt. Pratibha Acharya. A bright kid in school, he was promoted twice, reaching college at the age of 16. Later in his life he shifted to Andaman & Nicobar Islands as the Secretary, Social Welfare and fell in love with the simplicity of the islanders. In the years that followed, Mr. Acharya emerged as the focal point for environmental activism in the islands.

The Samir Acharya Memorial Award and Lecture seeks to honour defenders of the archipelago – not to mention other coastal ecosystems. To identify deserving candidates, Mr. Acharya's family has created an adjudicating jury of social scientist Simron Jit Singh and coastal research scholar Manish Chandi.