10 Indians who received Asia’s coveted Ramon Magsaysay Award

He was an advocate of non-violence and human rights. Fondly known as Acharya Vinoba Bhave, he is best known for the Bhoodan movement. He was arrested several times during 1920s and 1930s and served a five-year jail sentence for leading non-violent opposition to British rule. He was associated with Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian Independence movement. He got Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1958. He was also conferred with India’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, in 1983. 

Known as the ‘Father of White Revolution’, he proposed the idea – Operation Flood – the largest agricultural development programme in the world that transformed India from a milk-deficient country to the world's largest milk producer. Kurien was the brainchild behind Amul brand. He got Magsaysay Award in 1963 for community leadership. He was also a recipient of Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.  

Popularly known as Lok Nayak, he was an activist, social reformer and political leader. Born in Bihar, he is remembered for leading the mid-1970s opposition against PM Indira Gandhi. In 1999, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna for his social work. He was also awarded with the Magsaysay Award in 1965 for public service. The Patna airport is named after him. 

Born in Kolkata, the internationally acclaimed filmmaker started his career as a commercial artist. He directed at least 36 films. His first film, Pather Panchali, won 11 international prizes, including the Best Human Document at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. This film, along with Aparajito, and Apur Sansar form The Apu Trilogy. Ray received many major awards in his career, including 32 National Film Awards and an honorary Academy Award in 1992. He was honoured with Bharat Ratna in 1992. He was conferred upon Magsaysay Award in 1967. 

She was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna. She is also the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1974 with the citation reading "Exacting purists acknowledge Srimati MS Subbulakshmi as the leading exponent of classical and semi-classical songs in the Karnataka tradition of South India."

He was a senior journalist and worked as an editor of leading newspapers such as The Hindustan Times and The Indian Express. In 1975, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for outstanding contribution to journalism. He was also associated with the New Delhi think-tank Centre for Policy Research.

He is a senior journalist, author and politician. He has worked as an economist with the World Bank, a consultant to the Planning Commission, editor of the Indian Express and The Times of India. He was also a minister between 1998 and 2004. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982. He is currently the chairman of board of governors of the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata.

She is a politician, social activist, and a retired police officer. Bedi is the first woman to join Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972 and has served in Goa, Delhi, and Mizoram. She took care of traffic arrangements during the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. As an Inspector General, she started various reforms in Tihar Jail. The former tennis player won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1994.  

She is the founder of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana. Born in Tamil Nadu, Roy served as a civil servant in the Indian Administrative Service between 1968 and 1974. She was a leader of the Right to Information movement which led to the enactment of the RTI Act in 2005. In 2000, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership. 

The Delhi CM, who graduated from IIT Kharagpur in Mechanical Engineering, worked as a Joint Commissioner in the IT department. He was awarded with the Magsaysay Award for emergent leadership in 2006 for his role in grassroots movement using RTI legislation in a campaign against corruption. He later donated his award money as a corpus fund to found the Public Cause Research Foundation, an NGO.