A Pakistani Hindu has become the first Pakistani to be awarded the Emerging Young Leaders Award. The award is granted by the U.S. Department of State to a group of young leaders in recognition of their efforts to promote positive social change in their communities.

Raj Kumar who is a member of the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network won the award after serving in various leadership positions within Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network and has worked on projects focusing on countering violent extremist voices and promoting pluralism in society.

Through one of his initiatives, “Days of Interreligious Youth Action – Promoting Peace through Arts, Sports, Dialogue and Music,” Raj and his 10-person team brought together 500 community members from different ethnic and religious backgrounds to paint and share messages of peace through art and Sufi music, as well as teach teamwork and sportsmanship lessons.

Through another one of his projects, Kumar provided training to women about Pakistani laws that protect their rights.