Updated

An Indian who led a grassroots movement on behalf of the low-caste Dalit community and the Philippines' chief anti-corruption fighter are among this year's six recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, regarded as Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

The Philippine foundation that grants the awards announced Wednesday that Bezwada Wilson, who was the first in his Dalit family to pursue higher education, is being honored for his 32-year crusade that has liberated around half of an estimated 600,000 people from manually removing human excrement from dry latrines.

Conchita Carpio-Morales, the Philippines' ombudsman, or public prosecutor, is also being honored for her moral courage in fighting corruption.