"We are immensely pleased to present our 2005 recognition award to Sandeep for his life’s work dedicated to education of marginalized children, promoting communal harmony in India and working for nuclear disarmament and India-Pakistan peace” - Abhay Bhushan, President of Indians for Collective Action (ICA)-USA

September 20, 2005, Palo Alto, California – Indians for Collective
Action (ICA), a San Francisco Bay Area based non-profit organization
dedicated to grass roots development and poverty alleviation programs
in India will be honoring Dr. Sandeep Pandey, outspoken peace
activist and founder of Asha for Education, at the Tenth Annual ICA
Recognition Dinner on Sunday, October 2, 2005, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30
p.m., at the Westin Hotel in Santa Clara, 5101 Great America Parkway,
Santa Clara, California.

Mr. Abhay Bhushan, President of ICA observed, "ICA's connection with
Sandeep Pandey and Asha for Education goes back to its formative
years at University of California, Berkeley, when Asha was adopted as
an ICA project. Over the years, we at ICA have been keenly watching
and supporting Sandeep's various initiatives, including his work in
education. We are immensely pleased to present our 2005 recognition
award to Sandeep for his life's work dedicated to education of
marginalized children, promoting communal harmony in India, and
working for nuclear disarmament and India-Pakistan peace."

Past recipients of ICA's recognition award—which now includes a cash
award of $5,000—have included several prominent activists from India
as well as Bay Area Indians. Recent awardees include danseuse and
community activist Dr. Mallika Sarabhai (2004), Dr. Jayaprakash
Narayan of Lok Satta who works for electoral reforms (2002), Dr. S.
N. Subba Rao of the National Youth Project (2001), and Mrs. Sushma
Iyengar of Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (2001).

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About ICA (www.icaonline.org)

For over four decades, Indians for Collective Action (ICA) has been a
catalyst for social change in India. Working largely through people
of Indian origin who now reside in the U.S., ICA has addressed
social, educational and environmental issues and has supported
innovative community development projects in over 16 states of India.
ICA has mentored and spawned such organizations as Asha for Education
and Foundation for Excellence (FFE).

For more information about ICA and about the 2005 ICA Recognition
Dinner, please contact:

Judith and Abhay Bhushan, akbhushan@aol.com, 650-424-8110
Geetha and Raju Rajagopal, rajagop@pacbell.net, 510-559-1049
Nishita Bakshi, nishbakshi@gmail.com, 650-766-6743

Dr. Sandeep Pandey meets the Bay Area press immediately before the
ICA dinner at The Westin, Santa Clara, October 2, 2005, 4:30 P.M.
(please check for exact location at the lobby)

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About Dr. Sandeep Pandey:

A decade ago Sandeep Pandey quit his job at the Indian Institute of
Technology, Kanpur and plunged into working for Asha, an educational
program for underprivileged children. His years of dedication brought
him in 2002 the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Asian equivalent of the
Nobel Prize. At 37, he was the youngest Indian to have been conferred
with the award. The award committee's citation, drawing parallels
between Pandey and Gandhi himself, ends with these words: "the board
of trustees recognizes the empowering example of his commitment to
the transformation of India's marginalized poor."

It was in the summer of 1991, during his student days at the
University of California, Berkeley, that Sandeep, along with two
other friends, founded Asha for Education. Today, the organization
has 35 chapters in India, USA and several other countries. Sandeep
devotes a considerable part of his energy to his activist causes,
including South Asian peace and communal harmony. At the Asha ashram
near Lucknow, he has created a learning environment where students
live and study among working communities of artisans and learn trades
in addition to their R's (Reading, Writing and Math). The ashram
works to overcome caste barriers that Dalits face, publicizes
official corruption in the local areas, and develops appropriate
technologies for the rural region. ICA helped Sandeep start Asha and
has supported many of his endeavors in India, including his recent
India-Pakistan Peace March. ICA will be honoring Sandeep at its
Annual Recognition Dinner on 2nd October 2005, Mahatma Gandhi's
Birthday.

ICA is a federally tax-exempt organization described in IRS Code
Section 501(c). All contributions to ICA are tax-deductible to the
full extent permitted by law. The ICA Federal Tax Identification
number is 23-7027461.
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Directions to Westin Santa Clara

From 101, take Exit on Great America Parkway going East, Westin is
the first right after crossing Tasman (next to the Santa Clara
Convention Center)

Admittance to the October 2, 2005 Recognition Dinner: $50 per person
(partially tax-deductible, pay at the door or send check payable to
ICA to: ICA, 801 West El Camino Real Box # 355, Mountain View, CA
94040-2511). Press passes are available on request.