[Saturday, December 04, 2010]The Kerala Governor Mr R.S. Gavai, who is Chancellor of the Calicut University, on Thursday conferred honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) degree on three prominent personalities including actor Mammootty at a function.
Mammootty received the degree in person while the nominees of Freedom fighter Captain Lakshmi Sahgal and historian Irfan Habib, received the degree from Gavai, at a special convocation held at the university campus at Tenhipalam, in Malappuram district.
Captain Lakshmi Sehgal was very active in the independence movement of India and commanded the 'Rani of Jhansi Regiment of INA, formed by Subhash Chandra Bose. A doctor by profession, she is still active as a medical practitioner and a social worker. She was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1998.
Prof Irfan Habib, a historian of international repute, was born on August 12, 1931 in Gujarat. He is presently Professor Emeritus at Aligarh Muslim University. He has served as Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research, President of the Indian History Congress and Fellow of British Royal History Society.
Acclaimed as one of the greatest living historians of India today, his interpretations of history from a Marxist perspective have received internatonal recognition. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2005.
Mohammed Kutty, better known as Mammootty, was born on September 7, 1953 at Vaikom in Kottayam district of Kerala. A prominent actor of the Malayalam film industry, he has won three National Film Awards besides several state awards. With over 300 films to his credit in Malayalam and other languages, Mammootty continues to be a leading artist of Indian Cinema. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1998.
