New Delhi: September 29, 2006. Global Council of India Christians (GCIC) is delighted at the award of the Right Livelihood Award to our close associate, Dr. Ruth Manorama. We join the international community in congratulating her on this great milestone in her long and illustrious career as a social activist. The award is a fitting recognition of her long-term involvement in the issues of the underdog, and her contribution and leadership in the area of the Human Rights of Women`s, Dalits, Minorities, the Urban Poor, and workers in the unorganized sector are well known. She was awarded a Degree of Honoris Causa by the Gurukul Theological Seminary, Chennai, in recognition of her work. She was one of the nominees from South India for the Nobel Prize. Our association with her goes back over a decade, and we have collaborated in many issues relating to the Human Rights of India`s marginalized populations. We recall her contribution to the Fact finding in the violence against tribals in Dangs District, Gujarat, in the year 1999, as well as her participation in the Fact finding following the violence in Godhra in 2002. Our collaboration at the time of the Durban Conference is still fresh. Dr. Ruth Manorama, a Dalit Christian, grew up in Chennai and completed her Master`s in Social Work. Since the early 80s, she has made Bangalore her home. She started a number of organizations including Women`s Voice, the National Alliance of Women, and the National Federation of Dalit Women. She and her husband Mr NKP Sami are also active in the National Center for Labour, one of the largest federations of trade unions in the unorganized sector. We wish Dr. Ruth Manorama many more effective years of work to make a difference in the way the world treats the marginalized and oppressed populations. She has indeed been the voice of the voiceless. GCIC looks forward to her continued support and greater involvement in the cause of the marginalized, especially those persecuted and oppressed on religious grounds in India. The award, we reiterate, should strengthen her hands in working for the cause of the Dalit Christians of this country.