KalingaTimes Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, June 12: Rajya Sabha Member from Orissa and former bureaucrat Secretary to Government of India Radhakant Nayak has been conferred a prestigious honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa by the famous New England College (NEC), New Hampshire of United States of America for his significant contribution towards uplift of the Dalits and Tribes. 

Two other towering personalities who were conferred the honorary degree by the Henniker-based College's commencement ceremony along with Nayak were author,

activist, and lecturer Loung Ung and Galway Kinnell, a well-known Pulitzer Prize winner American poet.

While Nayak was conferred the Honorary Doctorate, the President of the College and the Chairman of the Board praised him for his remarkable career of a selfless dedication and commitment for social justice and human rights that involved him in creative educational initiatives comprising research, teaching, publishing and government administration and for his leadership role in significant areas of political and social responsibilities.  

Orissa-born Nayak, who hailed from the Dalit community, was also commended for founding National Institute for Social Work and Social Sciences (NISSWAS) and Centre for Development Education and Communication (CEDEC) 37 years ago to help secure for the Dalits and Tribes their rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India and bringing about an enduring change in their lives.  

In his acceptance speech, Nayak presented a discourse on his philosophy of universal humanism and egalitarian universalism and dedicated the honour to all the Dalits and Tribes as well as their sympathisers and supporters of all castes and creeds in pluralist Democratic India, who struggle against injustice and oppression on a daily basis.