Kolkata, Jul 17 (PTI): Bollywood actor Kajol, actor-MP Dev, singer Nikhita Gandhi and several distinguished personalities from diverse fields were on Friday honoured with the 'Bochorer Best 2026' awards instituted by Anandabazar.com.

Writer Arunava Sinha, artist Kingshuk Sarkar, scientist Rupamanjari Ghosh, industrialist Hari Mohan Bangur, visually impaired social worker Tarak Chandra and film director Annapurna Basu were among the other recipients recognised for their contributions in literature, art, science, industry, social service and cinema.

Dev, who is also a Lok Sabha MP, was honoured as a "social crusader", while Kajol received the award for acting and Gandhi for music.

Addressing the annual awards ceremony, Aveek Kumar Sarkar, Editor Emeritus and Vice Chairman of the Ananda Bazar Group of Publications and a director of the Press Trust of India (PTI), said West Bengal was witnessing "a new ray of hope" reminiscent of 2011, while maintaining that the programme had been kept "above politics".

Sarkar said he had initially intended to speak about "change" but refrained from using the word as it could be construed as taking a political position.

"I had thought I would speak about change. But I won't. The moment I use that word, some people may think we are taking a political side," the Chief Editor of Anandabazar.com said.

"We have very carefully kept this programme above politics. In the words of one of my colleagues, it is 'one stage, all sides'," he added.

However, Sarkar said he believed the state had already undergone a significant transformation.

"It is true that a massive change has taken place in the state. Once again, a ray of hope has emerged, just as it had in 2011. Today we are celebrating that Bengali aspiration for change through Bochorer Best," he said.

In 2011, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress had ended the 34-year Left Front rule in the state, while earlier this year the BJP defeated the TMC to form its first government in West Bengal.

The 81-year-old media baron also expressed concern over what he described as the disappearance of Bengal's culture of protest, saying educated intellectuals, who traditionally remained anti-establishment, had increasingly aligned themselves with governments over the years.

"Protest has disappeared from the lives of Bengalis. It has been absent for a long time," he said.

Drawing a contrast between different political dispensations, Sarkar said during the CPI(M)-led Left Front regime, many intellectuals had "deposited the language of protest at Alimuddin Street", a reference to the party headquarters, while under the TMC government "almost all of them became supporters of the Trinamool".

"There are one or two exceptions, of course. Most of them stand with the government, whoever may be in power," he said.

Describing the period as one of "deep darkness", Sarkar said there were still "flashes of light" that offered hope.

Invoking former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, he said, "A single spark can start a prairie fire. We dedicate today's programme to the hope that such a prairie fire will one day emerge." The annual awards ceremony brought together personalities from different fields and diverse backgrounds on a common platform. PTI PNT NN MNB

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)