Gita Press row: Meet the former winners of Gandhi Peace Prize

Award was instituted by the Narasimha-Rao led Cong govt in 1995, has been given earlier to activists, fighting against colonialism to leprosy to Nelson Mandela and, in 2020, to Sheikh Mujibur Rehman

The main entrance of Gita Press in Gorakhpur. (Source: Gita Press website)

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The Opposition has hit out at the government for awarding the Gandhi Peace Prize to the Gorakhpur-based Gita Press, calling it a “travesty” and accused the BJP-led Centre of being “fundamentally anti-Gandhi”.

In the past, the prize that was instituted by the P V Narasimha Rao-led Congress government in 1995, has been given to heads of state such as Sheikh Mujibar Rahman (Bangladesh), Indian social worker Baba Amte, anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela and the Indian Sports Research Organisation (ISRO), among others.

Also Read | Gita Press to receive Gandhi Peace Prize: A brief history of the publishing house

Gita Press describes itself as a publisher of books “on Sanatan Hindu Dharma”, and says it has no association with any political outfit. However, the Opposition cites, among other things, a book called Gita Press and the making of Hindu India by independent researcher and former journalist Akshaya Mukul, which calls the publication “a crucial cog in the wheel of Hindu nationalism”. Jairam Ramesh, the Congress general secretary communications in-charge, said the decision was like “awarding (V D) Savarkar and (Nathuram) Godse”.

Also Read | Govt awards Gandhi Peace Prize to Gita Press, stirs controversy: A lowdown

Gita Press has said it would not accept the monetary part of the reward, Rs 1 crore, as it does not believe in accepting any donations.

The list of the winners of the prize since its inception:

1995: Anti-colonialism activist Julius K.Nyerere who was the former President of Tanzania

1996: A T Ariyaratne, founder president of the Sarvodaya Sharamadana Movement, a non-governmental community organisation from Sri Lanka

1997: Gerhard Fischer, a German diplomat who led anti-leprosy campaigns in India

1998: The Ramakrishna Mission, a spiritual organisation engaged in social service

1999: Baba Amte, a social activist who worked for the rehabilitation of people suffering from leprosy

2000: Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela and the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, a micro-credit organisation that works at the village level

2001: Irish politician John Hume, considered by many to be the principal architect behind the Good Friday agreement of 1998. Signed between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, it was critical to bringing an ended to the 30-year period of violent conflict in Northern Ireland.

2002: Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, an organisation started by independence activist KMM Munshi, which administers several schools and colleges across the country

2003: Vaclav Havel, the former President of Czechoslovakia who led it through the post-communist era. He also became the first President of the Czech Republic, formed in 1993.

2005: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a civil rights and anti-aparthied activist from South Africa

2013: Chandi Prasad Bhatt, a Gandhian environmentalist and social activist

2014: The Indian Space Research Organisation

2015: Vivekananda Kendra for its “contribution in providing mid-day meals to millions of children across India”

2016: Akshaya Patra Foundation for its contribution in providing mid-day meals and Sulabh International for its contribution in improving the condition of sanitation in India

2017: Ekal Abhiyan Trust for working in the education sector for rural and tribal children

2018: Shri Yohei Sasakawa for its contribution in Leprosy Eradication in India

2019: H.M. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, the former Sultan of Oman