BENGALURU: Telugu journalist, dalit activist and a leader of the Telangana movement Mallepalli Laxmaiah was honoured with an award by the Buddhist Spoorthidhama Trust here on Friday.
The senior journalist received the Bodhivardhana award for significant achievement from writer and activist Dr K Marulasiddappa. The ceremony was a part of the event ‘Ambedkar Habba’ to commemorate the 126th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar.
Laxmaiah has worked with major newspapers, including Vaartha and Andhra Jyothi. He is also one of the founders of the Telugu news channel HMTV. He has also been an active dalit activist. In 2009, he retired from journalism to play an active role in the Telangana movement.
Laxmaiah was chosen for the award due to his dalit activism and association with Buddhism. In April 2016, he was nominated as a special officer for the Buddhavanam project at Nagarjunasagar in Nalgonda district by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
The project is being developed as a tourist attraction for Buddhists in India and South Asian countries. Laxmaiah has also maintained that the state of Telangana has Buddhist roots.