The honesty of an ordinary Malayali worker in Oman, who returned a bag full of money to a forgetful Egyptian last year, stood out among the achievements of his more celebrated non-resident Indian counterparts at the fourth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas that concluded in Hyderabad on Monday.
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Abdullah Qader from Kasargod in north Kerala was honoured by President A P J Abdul Kalam with a 'Certificate of Honour', a first at the annual gathering of NRIs from around the world.
On November 8 last year, Qader found a bag in a coffee shop in Muscat, the capital of Oman, where he had been working for the past 25 years. The bag containing 5,000 Riyals (approximately Rs 600,000) was returned to the Egyptian who had left it behind.
Qader, who was specially invited to the event with his wife and three children, was given the award for 'his outstanding act of honesty,' said the Overseas Indians Affairs Ministry.
"I found the bag in the shop and knew whom it belonged to. So I returned it to him," said Qader after receiving the award from the President.
Qader's wife Nafisa and daughters - Afra (12), Frahah (7) and Safa (3) - witnessed the presentation of the award.
"The President was very enthusiastic when we told him we want to give this award to Qader," said MIOA Deputy Secretary Mahesh Arora.
Qader was the only NRI worker at the fourth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas attended by NRI delegates including businessmen, political leaders and professionals from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and other countries.