PRIZE ANNOUNCEMENT-NATIONAL ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION

Aneetta Thomas Peedikayil The Prize Announcement Ceremony of the National Level Essay Writing Competition was held by the Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, Christ (Deemed to be University) in collaboration with the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) on November 11, 2020. The competition was conducted to commemorate India’s 73 years of independence and its stellar achievements in world politics. The Essay competition marked the beginning of the collaboration between Christ (Deemed to be University) and ICWA, attracting 150+ entries in the Undergraduate and Postgraduate sections under the English and Kannada categories. The entries were perused anonymously by four judges given the painstaking efforts of the volunteers from the department to maintain the participants’ anonymity. Dr Madhumati Deshpande, Coordinator, Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, Christ (Deemed to be University) kickstarted the session with the welcome address. The ICWA Director-General, Ambassador T.C.A Raghavan and Pro- Vice Chancellor of Christ (Deemed to be University), Dr Fr. Jose CC were the dignitaries for the event. Ambassador Raghavan enlightened the purpose of collaboration in developing discussions on foreign policy while Dr Fr. Jose highlighted the advantages of participating and organizing an essay competition. Dr Surendra Kumar and Dr MJ Vinod, two of the four judges outlined their immense experiences while judging the entries. Dr Surendra Kumar announced the winners for the Kannada category while Dr MJ Vinod announced the winners for the English category. The winners in the Postgraduate section on the topic ‘India’s Disaster Diplomacy in South Asia: Challenges and Opportunities’ are as follows: Winners Kannada English I prize: Prithvi R. Hegde (M. Com, CSI College of Commerce, Dharwad, Karnataka) Jhalak Agarwal (M.A Public Policy, O.P. Jindal University, Sonipat, Haryana) II prize: Bhujanga K. (M.A Political Science, First Grade College, Ramangra, Karnataka) Vineet Unni (M.A International Relations, University of Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu) III prize: Dilip K (M.Tech, Bangalore Institute of Technology, Bangalore, Karnataka) Ranjitha R. (MBA, Government Ramnarayan Chellaram College of Commerce and Management, Bengaluru, Karnataka) The winners in the Undergraduate section on the topic ‘India and Emerging Global Challenges’ are as follows: Winners Kannada English I prize: Gayatri Samant (B. Sc, Gokhale Centenary college, Ankola, Karnataka) Oyeshi Ganguli (B.A, International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kokatta, West Bengal II prize: Anusha D. (B. Sc, KLE Society S Nijlingappa College, Bangalore, Karnataka) B. Pavishyaa (B.A, Political Science, Madras Christian College, Tamil Nadu) III prize: Mahantesh Shivananda Shivakali (B.E, Ramiah Institute of Technology, Karnataka) Cliford Joshy (B.Tech, National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode, Kerala) The winners received cash prizes and shared their profound experiences with the audience. The session came to an end with the vote of thanks proposed by Dr John Jojin, Research Fellow, ICWA followed by concluding remarks by Dr Manoharan N, Associate Professor, Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, Christ (Deemed to be University) who was the MC for the event.