RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD

CONTEXT

The decision of former Kerala Health Minister K.K.Shailaja to decline an offer to be considered for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award this year has sparked a row following allegations that the CPI( M)

Communist Party of India (Marxist) restrained her from accepting the honour.

• The party cited the anti-communist credentials of the former Philippines President as the reason for declining the offer.
• Magsaysay was a staunch anti communist.
• Shailaja told that she turned down the award after consulting the central leadership

ABOUT RAMON MAGSAYSAY

• He served as the seventh President of the Philippines from December 1953 to March 1957 before he was killed in a plane crash on Mount Manunggal on Cebu Island.
• During World War II, he served as a guerilla leader against the Japanese as a part of the 31 ST infantry divisions of the Philippines. The U.S took note of his military leadership during the war and appointed him as the military governor of his home province after the Philippines attained

Independence in 1946.

• He started his political journey with his election to the House of Representatives in 1946.
• He was appointed as Secretary of National Defense to deal with the communist–led Huks movement.
• In 1953, he became President of the Philippines; his three-year tenure is often cited as the golden years of the Philippines.

RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD

• In 1957, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) established the Ramon Magsaysay Awards in the President’s honour in agreement with the Philippines government.
• Later, the Fund set up the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, a non–profit organization to manage Asia's biggest honour that recognizes selfless work transforming lives.
• It is regarded as Asia's version of the Nobel Prize, the award was initially given for contributions to government service, public service, community leadership, journalism, literature, and creative

Communication arts and peace and international understanding.

• The category of “emergent leadership “was added later.
• From India 58 have bagged the international honour. some of the past awardees include Mother Teresa, Satyajit Ray, Verghese Kurien, Arvind Kejriwal, Mahasweta Devi, and Aruna Roy.

HUKBALAHAP MOVEMENT

• The Hukbalahap was a communist-led peasant-based movement with its roots in the pre-colonial era of political, economic, and social inequalities
• It was founded in the 1940 s to fight the Japanese army that had invaded the Philippines. A member of the communist party of the Philippines, Luis Taruc, was its first commander.
• The Hukbalahap emerged as a popular, well-organized, highly trained force that aimed to seize power once the war ended. However, mistrust grew between the U.S army and the Huks which resulted in serious confrontations between the U.S Army and the rebels.
• Backed by U.S forces the Philippines government disarmed the rebels.
• During the first elections held in the Philippines after independence, a few Hukbalahap also contested and won but they were unseated.
• The Huks then retreated to jungles in central Luzon and began to restructure their organization to overthrow the newly elected government.
• President Manuel Roxas intended to fulfill his promise of removing the Huks from the islands. Then insurrections started against Huks.
• Between 1946 and 1950, the Huks took control of large patches of the islands and targeted the Philippine Army and police constabulary.
• To deal with the threat of an uprising, President Elpidio Quirino appointed Ramon Magsaysay as the secretary of National Defence –a vocal spokesperson against communism.
• He launched the Economic Development Corps (EDCOR) project to establish resettlement colonies for the Huks, provided "ash for guns" to facilitate their return to mainstream society, and pushed for a land reform law.
• Later as President Ramon Magsaysay led a massive anti-Huks campaign "Operation Thunder Lightning" in 1954 with the help of a reorganized military and intelligence.