D. Sk. Makbul Islam the NAVAKALEVAR AWARD-2015 for research on Sri Jagannath for his research on Sri Jagannath. This is the highest award on Jagannath Research. Islam is the first Indian and the second recipient  to receive this award in 2015.  The  first award was given to Herman Kulke, the German Indologist in 1996. The award is given by Sri Jagannath Research Institute, Bhubaneswar Odisa. Revered Nischalananda Saraswati, the Sankaracharyya of Govardhan Pith, Puri, and Gajapati Divya Simhadev, the King of Puri gave away the award to Islam.