Gandhi Peace Prize For 2021 To Be Conferred On Gita Press, Gorakhpur

The Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2021 is being conferred on Gita Press, Gorakhpur.

The jury, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recognises the contribution of the hundred-year-old institution in promoting Gandhian ideals of peace and social harmony.

Gita Press has been recognised for its outstanding contribution towards social, economic, and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods.

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 the Indian leader.

The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed, or gender.

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 Gandhi Peace Prize on Gita Press, upon completion of 100 years of its establishment, is a recognition of the work done by the institution in community service.

The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque, and an exquisite traditional handicraft or handloom item.

The past awardees include organisations 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 the 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; Vaclav Havel, former president of Czechoslovakia; Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa; 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.

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 organisations strive for the betterment of life and well-being of all.

Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 recognises the important and unparalleled contribution of Gita Press in contributing to the collective upliftment of humanity, which personifies Gandhian living in the true sense.