Arunachal: Mamang Dai receives Yamin Hazarika Woman of Substance Award

Our Correspondent

ITANAGAR: The 10th Yamin Hazarika Woman of Substance Award was conferred on noted poet and novelist, Mamang Dai, at a function in Guwahati recently. Assam Director General of Police GP Singh and Dy 365 managing director Dipannita Jaiswal presented the award to Dai.

Yamin Hazarika was a 1977 batch NCT of Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra Nagar Haveli Police Service Services (DANIPS) officer and was DCP, Delhi Police, when she passed away in 1999 at the young age of 43. She was one of the first few female police leaders of the country.

In his address, Singh said, "Being a woman in Khaki is a difficult task even today. Female cops still have to struggle for basic amenities like toilets when they are on duty in public places."

Dai is a poet and novelist writing in English. She was a correspondent with the Hindustan Times, the Telegraph, and The Sentinel newspapers and president of the Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists. She also worked with the World Wide Fund for Nature in the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspots programme.

In 2003, Dai received the state Verrier Elwin Award for her book Arunachal Pradesh-the Hidden Land, featuring the culture, folklore, and customs of Arunachal's different communities. She has featured in several national and international forums, and her poems, fiction, and articles have been published in numerous journals and anthologies.

She was a member of the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission from 2011-2017.

In 2011, Dai was awarded the Padma Shri in recognition of her contribution in the field of literature and education and is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award 2017 for her novel The Black Hill, in English.

A panel discussion on women and translation was also organized. The panelists included Dr Pori Hiloidari, Madhu Raghavendra, and Indrani Raimedhi and was moderated by Nasreen Habib.

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