Calcutta, Nov. 11: Journalist M.J. Akbar was awarded the first Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Purashkar by the West Bengal Board of Madarsa Education this morning.

Speaking on the occasion, also the 118th birth anniversary of Azad, Akbar, the editor-in-chief of the Asian Age and former editor of The Telegraph, highlighted the plight of minorities. “Only education can bring about a change.... So many commissions have been set up over the past 50 years but to no avail,” he said.

Taking cue, the finance minister announced an upgrade of madarsas and a hike in the annual grant for the board from Rs 35 lakh to Rs 1 crore.