Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 conferred on Gita Press, Gorakhpur

The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 has been conferred on Gita Press, Gorakhpur. The jury, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after due deliberations on today unanimously decided to select Gita Press, Gorakhpur, as the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2021, in recognition of its outstanding contribution towards social, economic, and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods, an official press release said.

It is an annual award instituted by Government of India in 1995, on the occasion of 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.

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

The past awardees include organizations such as Indian Space Research Organization or Isro, the Ramakrishna Mission, Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, Vivekananda Kendra (Kanyakumari), Akshaya Patra (Bengaluru), Ekal Abhiyan Trust, and Sulabh International, New Delhi. It has also been awarded to such luminaries as Nelson Mandela, former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, Dr. Gerhard Fischer of Germany, Baba Amte, Dr. John Hume of Ireland, former Czechoslovakian president Vaclav Havel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, and Yohei Sasakawa of 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 Bhagvad 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 wellbeing of all, the release said.

Prime Minister Modi recalled the contribution of Gita Press in promoting the Gandhian ideals of peace and social harmony. He said that the conferment of Gandhi Peace Prize on Gita Press, on completion of hundred years of its establishment, is recognition of the work done by the institution in community service.

Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 recognizes the important and unparalleled contribution of Gita Press, in contributing to collective uplift of humanity.