This Republic Day, the Tamil Nadu government conferred the Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award on well-known fact-checker Mohammed Zubair of Alt News. This drew nationwide attention to an award of which even in the State there is limited awareness.
The award was instituted in honour of V.M. Ameer, alias Kottai Ameer, a man who had stood firmly against religious polarisation but fell victim to Islamic fundamentalism. Born to V.P. Muhammed Ibrahim and Jaina Bheevi, the third-generation Muslims settled at Kottaimedu in Coimbatore, Ameer had an early stint in public life while he earned for the family from a real estate business. Though he started his political life with the Indian National Congress, Ameer had his most active period in the public sphere when he moved to the Janata Dal, becoming the district president of its minority wing.
