Dr. Martin Luther King Presidential Award
Honoree for 2008 Mr. Rajendra Shukla
 

Mr. Rajendra Shukla is an outstanding American who has left his mark on the American life as a successful enterprenuer, community activist, philanthropist and a man with great compassion for others. His generosity for many worthy causes is par excellent.

Mr. Shukla had very humble beginnings in a small village in western India where he wore no shoes until he was in high school. He responded to the call of Mahatma Gandhi and would walk miles to the colony of untouchables to teach their children free to give them hope to change their lives. His hard work as a new immigrant to America in 1970’s, his values, his innovative ideas mixed with his ability to take challenges in life put him in the forefront of American refined precious metals industry. The very successful Reliable Silver Co. that he founded in Connecticut was taken over by a New York based rapidly growing Westbury Metals Group Co. in 1999 whose sales peaked at $99 million by the year 2000 and Mr. Shukla stayed on as a Director. Former Westbury Metal Group Director Mr. Michael Riess said in a newspaper article, Mr Shukla is in “a specialized business, but within that niche, certainly he’s a leader.” Subsequently Westbury Metal Group Co. could not manage fast growth through many acquisitions and slated Reliable Co. for closure but Mr. Shukla came back to take over the company and revived it and saved the jobs and homes of very dedicated and highly educated, some with Ph.Ds., employees. He had to travel 1500 to 2000 miles every week to renew his contacts and assure his past loyal customers that he was back in control. He has brought Reliable PrecMet Inc. back on the road to success.

In 2006, Mr. Shukla was awarded International Peace Prize for outstanding personal achievements to the good of society. The Mayor of Waterbury and the Mayor of Naugatuek in Connecticut went to North Carolina to accept this award on behalf of Mr. Shukla who was at Sloan Katering Memorial Hospital at that time.

Mr. Shukla comes from the land of Mahatma Gandhi and has always admired the role played by Dr. Martin Luther King in gaining the civil rights for not only African-Americans but all Americans in regard to discrimination in employment, housing and public places. Like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela he fought this struggle valiantly through non-violent movement in America and stood up for the rights of all Americans based on decency, truth and justice for all. In order to keep the dreams of these world leaders alive, Mr. Shukla, when he was Chairman of Indian Cultural Society, New Jersey in 1970, helped to buy land and set up Mahatma Gandhi Center in Wayne, New Jersey which is also used as a temple now. Mr. Shukla is a life long trusty of Gandhi Center. Mr. Shukla is also a life long trusty of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, a premium Indian cultural Institute in Manhattan that organized World Hindi Conference in 2007 at the fully packed United Nations and Mr. Ki Mon the Secretary General addressed the delegate Hindi Scholars from all over the world.

Mr. Shukla has helped in a big way by setting up scholarship funds for all kinds of post-secondary school education for minority and need based students in Waterbury, Connecticut. He has also set up another trust fund for Food for Hunger and soup kitchens that continuously replenishes supplies at Food Banks in Waterbury. His daughter Mrs. Shobhna Shukla, with the support of her husband Mr. Mathew Ginsburg manage these trust funds to realize some of the dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King for a long time to come. This year Mr. Shukla has also boosted the scholarship funds tremendously of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Committee in Nassau County, New York to provide significant increase in the amount of scholarships awarded.

As President of the Federation of Indian Associations, an umbrella organization (1993-94) in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Mr. Shukla organized the largest India Day Parade in Manhattan since its inception and was put on the front cover of the Daily News for this spectacular achievement. The then publisher Mr. John Perry of News India Times bestowed upon him Man Of The Year Award for 1993 for his rare stunning success. The Governor of Connecticut Her Excellence M. Jodi Rell, while honoring him with the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin Distinguished Award for 2007 indicated, “your energy, enthusiasum and leadership are truly impressive in the State of Connecticut.”

When asked who is your advisor, Mr. Shukla without blinking an eye said, “my best advisor, my supporter, and my best companion is my wife Ranjana who always gives me the best direction and best advice. We discuss many aspects of life, business, community and social and she always comes up with very bright ideas and suggestions that help me a lot.” Both of them believe in education and adventure. Both of their daughters graduated from Yale University . Dr. Sandhya Shukla teaches at Columbia University and her husband Dr. Thomas Klubock at SUNY’s Stony Brook campus and they have a son named Kiran. Another daughter Mrs. Shobhna Shukla is a nurse practitioner at a clinic in Chicago and her husband Mr. Mathew Ginsburg is a labor attorney who helps out immigrants.

For Mr. Rajendra Shukla’s compassion and outstanding contributions to humanity and for his very effective leadership in Business and Society he is being awarded Dr. Martin Luther King Presidential Award for 2008.