Pratishtha Dey from Assam has received the first-ever gold medal and citation, the award instituted in memory of alumnus late Manoj K Srivastava, a Bihar-cadre IAS (1980), at a function held at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) new campus on Thursday evening.

The Centre for the Study of Social Systems (CSSS), JNU has instituted the annual award for the MA Sociology toppers in memory of the late Srivastava, said the CSSS chairperson Vivek Kumar.

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Talking to The Statesman, Dey says: “It was an overwhelming experience for me. I was new to sociology as I switched my stream from physics to sociology in my post-graduation. The JNU is a different world for me which made me understand the importance of freedom and the love for knowledge as well as awareness of society”.

Dey, who is currently enrolled as Ph.D. scholar at the JNU, said that she belonged to Sonapur which is on the outskirts of Guwahati city. “After schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya, I pursued my B. Sc. in physics from Cotton University (2017-20). Later on, I switched to MA in sociology from JNU (2020-22),” she said, recounting her academic journey.

Late Srivastava is among the most acclaimed IAS officers of the Bihar cadre. He completed his MA in sociology from the JNU. At the university, he was awarded 13 ’A’ grades out of 16 which remained an unbeaten record for many years. After this, he was selected for IAS securing the 3rd position in the country in the civil services examinations, and joined the Bihar cadre.

Talking to The Statesman, Srivastava’s wife, Nina Srtivastava, who runs an NGO in Patna thanked the JNU for instituting an award for the sociology topper in memory of her husband. Srivastava passed away in Patna in August 2020 after suffering from Covid-19 infection.

Every year, the Manoj Srivastava annual memorial lecture is delivered in Patna in August, says his eldest son Saagar Srivastava, who is an income tax officer posted in Bhopal. Nobel Laureate Professor Abhijit Banerjee had delivered his first memorial lecture in 2021.

Later, three noted sociologists namely Prof Anand Kumar, Dr Bimal Akoijam and Dr Manoj K Jena delivered talks on the topic “Sociologists and Public Figure”.

Prof Anand Kumar, an old associate of late Srivastava and a former professor of Sociology at JNU, recalled his old memories with Manoj from JNU days till the end. Praising Srivastava, Prof Kumar said that Manoj had a rare combination of as an academician and an administrator. “He was one of the brilliant minds ever produced by JNU in sociology.