February 24 is marked as the birth anniversary of journalist Parag Kumar Das who highlighted crucial social causes through his powerful writings.

The Parag Kumar Das Journalist Award, 2019 will be conferred to Senior Journalist Shantanu Nandan Sharma of the Economic Times at a prestigious ceremony today.

The award will carry a memento, a citation and a cheque of Rs 25 thousand. The award would be conferred on him at Vivekananda Kendra in the city.

On 17 May 1996, journalist and human rights activist Parag Kumar Das was shot by unidentified gunmen in Guwahati. Das, the editor-in-chief of the daily "Asomiya Pratidin", was picking his son up from school when three men drove up in an automobile and opened fire. Das was shot at least eight times. His seven year-old son, Rohan Das, sustained an injury to his right hand, but is reportedly in stable condition. The gunmen fled the scene immediately after the shooting.

Das was also General Secretary of the Assamese human rights organisation Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS).