KARACHI, Aug 25: With financial help from the National Rural Support Programme, the Council of Social Sciences, Pakistan, (COSS) has established a Dr Akhter Hameed Khan Memorial Award of Rs50,000 in memory of the distinguished social worker and social scientist.

The award will be given every year on October 9, the birthday of the late Dr Akhter Hameed Khan, to the best book by a Pakistani scholar and published during a financial year (July to June), says a press release. However, for this year, books written from July 2001 to June 2005 will also be eligible. The award will be given to a book covering any one of the following fields: rural / urban development, poverty and its alleviation, peace, and gender discrimination.

Only books written in English, Urdu and other Pakistani languages and meeting international academic standards in substance and format will be eligible for the award. A textbook or a book consisting of articles by different writers is not eligible. However, a book comprising collection of articles by one author will be considered. The award can be given posthumously.

The last date for the submission of recommendations is September 1 and for nominations is September 10. The recommendations / nominations must be sent to the COSS on the following address: Flat No. 307, Dossal Arcade, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad. Those who nominate a book for the award should send a formal letter to the COSS with two hard copies of the book.

Dr Akhter Hameed Khan (1914-1999) had joined the Indian Civil Service (ICS) in 1934 and resigned from it in 1943. He then worked as a locksmith in a village near Aligarh. After this he took up a teaching position at the Jamia Millia, Delhi, and remained with it for three years.

In 1959 he was appointed the director of the Pakistan Rural Development Academy, Comilla, and remained with it until 1971. In 1980, he founded the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) at Karachi. For his pioneering work in rural development Dr Khan was given Sitara-i-Pakistan in 1961 and the Magsaysay award in 1963.