Shamnad Basheer has won the Infosys Science Foundation 2014 prize in the humanities category today.
The former NUJS Kolkata MHRD chair professor for intellectual property (IP), founder of the Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access (IDIA) initiative and the SpicyIP blog, was awarded the prize “for his contributions to the analysis of a range of legal issues, including pharmaceutical patent injunctions and enforcement”, according to Infosys’ press release.
He has in recent years been involved in the Novartis-Glivec patent case in the Supreme Court, as an academic intervenor, and in the Delhi University textbook photocopying case.
The prize, conferred on individuals in six categories, consists of a purse of Rs 55 Lakhs, a 22 karat gold medal and a citation certificate for each category. Nobel prize laureate Amartya Sen was on the six-person jury for the prize in the humanities category. In previous years the prizes have been won mostly by academics and professors.
Comments
1. Prof. Shamnad Basheer is a legal scholar of great distinction, whose work has elevated ongoing debates on contemporary legislation and judicial decisions, particularly in dealing with patents, by clarifying the demands of competing claims of conflicting principles.
Since the cogency and consistency of legal arguments are sometimes sacrificed in legal decisions and swayed, if only implicitly, by the force of immediacy, Basheer’s contribution in bringing the urgent practical considerations in line with global jurisprudence has been of great theoretical as well as applicational interest.
2. Basheer’s demonstration of his ability to rise above immediate passions, without losing sight of the important life and death issues that generate those passions, has made him a much sought after voice of legal illumination.
[b]When I was reading this, I was like "WTF"[/b]
And if the prize is for legal scholarship, then there are numerous others who have published extensively, e.g. Shyam Balganesh who has become a PROFESSOR at one of the world's top law schools. How many times has he ever been mentioned on LI?
Let's put it this way: Shamnad getting this prize is about as deserving as Slumdog Millionaire winning the Oscar for Best Picture.
The very same link that you cite in your message contains Amartya Sen's message. You should read it again.
"It is my wonderful duty to congratulate Prof. Basheer for his remarkable work on legal theory, legal practice and also legal education. And he's being honored by the Infosys Prize in Humanities for the major breakthroughs he has made, particularly in his academic work dealing with intellectual property rights generally, but patent laws in particular. He has also linked up the practice of law with the theory of it in a totally remarkable and convincing way. He has also been a major factor in the expansion of legal education in India whereby people can participate in the reasoning that goes into legal decisions on subjects including patent rights and so on, which affect the lives of so many people. So we are delighted on behalf of the Infosys Science Foundation and the jury committee to be able to honor Prof. Basheer for the fantastic work that he has done and which has made a major difference to the world of legal education and legal practice, and legal understanding across the country."
I suggest you get someone to translate this into a language you understand better. Or are you just one of those losers who have nothing better to do than troll and express your negativity when something good happens?
ad, ILI