When entries were invited for the annual essay competition in 2007, there were nearly 400 responses from all around the country. Rajni Bakshi, one of the organisers, said, “In fact, the panellists had a hard time choosing the winners. So many essays were so well-written.”

The essays, in Hindi and English and compiled in a book, cleverly depict how differences of any sort touched the authors’ lives at various times. But the winner of the first prize (English), a witty Anuranjan Roy, clearly took the cake in expressing differences in hostel life. Roy, a design engineer with TCS, recalls the unspoken tension that existed among students during his tenure in the Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra, some years ago. Later, receiving his Rs 1 lakh prize cheque, Roy joked, “I am very happy today — I’m one lakh rupees richer and Dia Mirza just read my essay.”

For Priya Kale, who was shortlisted for the finals, understanding of communal harmony came by understanding the Armed Forces. She said: “My father was in the Army so I could get an insight into their lives. I realised their unity comes from their well-identified goals. We, on the other hand, don’t have clear goals and so find time to wallow in differences.”

Anuj Sinha, first prize winner (Hindi), talked about how his father’s status as a “small-time school teacher” earned him sniggers as a child. He also said: “There is a lot of discrimination in our country, but when you look deeper it’s all futile.”

The panel of judges included The Indian Express consulting editor Shailaja Bajpai, filmmaker Shyam Benegal, columnist Anil Dharkar, election analyst and media consultant Dorab Sopariwala and CRY CEO Ingrid Srinath for English and Planning Commission member Syeeda Hameed, lyricist Prasoon Joshi, Loksatta editor Kumar Ketkar, Navneet editor Vishwanath Sachdev and writer Javed Siddiqi for Hindi.

Summing up the topic of discussion, Benegal said, “At the end of the day, the minority is still afraid today. There needs to be some reform where the minority shares power not only in politics but also economically and socially.”

The Winners
English essay
* Anuranjan Roy, Kolkata - 1st prize
* Anubhuti Mishra, Ahmedabad - 2nd prize
* Tapan Kumar Pradhan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai - 3rd prize