Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 announced: PM Modi-led jury unanimously chooses THIS recipient
Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the Government of India in 1995, on the occasion of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi Peace Prize 202: The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 will be conferred on Gita Press, Gorakhpur, in recognition of its "outstanding contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods". The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft or handloom item.
Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the Government of India in 1995, on the occasion of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi. The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender.
Jury headed by PM Modi decided to select Gita Press
According to the Ministry of Culture, the Jury headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after due deliberations unanimously decided to select Gita Press, Gorakhpur as the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2021.
Prime Minister Modi recalled the contribution of Gita Press, in promoting the Gandhian ideals of peace and social harmony. He observed that the conferment of the Gandhi Peace Prize on Gita Press, on completion of hundred years of its establishment, is a recognition of the work done by the institution in community service, the ministry said in a statement.
PM Modi congratulates Gita Press
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Gita Press, Gorakhpur on being conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021. "They have done commendable work over the last 100 years towards furthering social and cultural transformations among the people," tweets PM Modi.
CM Yogi congratulates Gita Press
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated the Gorakhpur-based Gita Press for being conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021. "Heartiest congratulations to Gorakhpur-based Geeta Press, the most important centre of religious literature of Sanatan Dharma of India, on receiving the 'Gandhi Peace Prize' for the year 2021," Adityanath said in a tweet.
"This award received on the completion of 100 years of establishment will give a new flight to the religious literature of Gita Press. Heartfelt thanks to respected Prime Minister for this," he further said.
Congress criticised awarding prize to Gita Press
The Congress, however, criticised awarding the prize to Gita Press and called it a "travesty". The party's general secretary-in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 has been conferred on the Gita Press at Gorakhpur which is celebrating its centenary this year."
"There is a very fine biography from 2015 of this organisation by Akshaya Mukul in which he unearths the stormy relations it had with the Mahatma and the running battles it carried on with him on his political, religious and social agenda," he said. "The decision is really a travesty and is like awarding Savarkar and Godse," Ramesh said on Twitter.
About Gita Press
Established in 1923, Gita Press is one of the world’s largest publishers, having published 41.7 crore books in 14 languages, including 16.21 crore Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. The institution has never relied on advertisement in its publications, for revenue generation. Gita Press along with its affiliated organizations, strives for the betterment of life and the well-being of all.
“Gandhi Peace Prize 2021, recognizes the important and unparalleled contribution of Gita Press, in contributing to the collective upliftment of humanity, which personifies Gandhian living in the true sense,” it said.
Gandhi Peace Prize awardees
The past awardees include organizations such as ISRO, Ramakrishna Mission, Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, Akshaya Patra, Bengaluru, Ekal Abhiyan Trust, India and Sulabh International, New Delhi. It has also been awarded to luminaries like Late Dr. Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, Dr. Julius Nyerere, Former President of Tanzania, Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, Founder President of Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, Sri Lanka, Dr. Gerhard Fischer, Federal Republic of Germany, Baba Amte, Dr. John Hume, Ireland, Mr. Vaclav Havel, former President of Czechoslovakia, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Shri Chandi Prasad Bhatt and Yohei Sasakawa, Japan.
Recent awardees include Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Oman (2019) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2020), Bangladesh.