The Gandhi Peace Prize: Award, Jury, and Notable Recipients

Nelson Mandela won it. So did a publishing house in Gorakhpur. India’s own peace prize has gone to presidents, doctors, a space agency and a printing press. It is named after the man who made non-violence a method of politics. Let us see how it works.

1What is the Gandhi Peace Prize, and why was it created?

The Government of India started the prize in 1995. That year marked 125 years since Gandhi was born. The first winner was Julius Nyerere of Tanzania.

• It honours work for change through non-violence and other Gandhian methods.
• The change can be social, economic or political.
• The prize carries ₹1 crore, a plaque and a citation.
• The Ministry of Culture handles it.
• The cash can be converted into any world currency, so foreign winners are paid easily.
• The jury decides each year whether any case is strong enough to win.

2Who sits on the jury that picks the winner?

A prize this big needs a strong panel. The jury is not a single office. It mixes the government, the courts and Parliament.

• The Prime Minister heads the jury.
• The Chief Justice of India sits on it.
• So does the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
• The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is a member too.
• Two eminent persons join them. They are appointed every three years and can be reappointed.
• The President is not a member.
• The jury looks at work done in roughly the last ten years. Older work can count if its worth became clear only recently.

3Who has won it?

The list spans the world. It also shows a pause that exams love to ask about.

• The prize was withheld from 2006 to 2012. The jury was free to hold it back when no case stood out.
• Mujibur Rahman’s award in 2020 is the first one given after the recipient’s death.
• Other winners include John Hume (2001), the Akshaya Patra Foundation and Sulabh International (2016), Yohei Sasakawa (2018) and Sultan Qaboos of Oman (2019).
• The 2021 choice of Gita Press drew public debate. Some praised its work in spreading texts. Others questioned the choice.

4Can institutions and foreigners win it?

• The prize is open to all people, whatever their nationality, race, creed or gender.
• It can go to a person or to an institution.
• That is why Grameen Bank, ISRO and Gita Press could win it.
• Note the pattern. Leaders, charities, companies and agencies have all been honoured.

5How is it different from other Gandhi-named awards?

• The Indira Gandhi Prize is a separate award for peace, disarmament and development.
• It has its own jury and its own purpose.
• Both honour peace. But the Gandhi Peace Prize is tied to Gandhian, non-violent methods.
• The Nobel Peace Prize is given by a Norwegian committee, not by India.
• Exams may place these names side by side. Check the full name in each option.

6What are the exam traps on the Gandhi Peace Prize?

• Trap 1: the President is on the jury. The President is not.
• Trap 2: the prize is only for individuals. Institutions can win too.
• Trap 3: only Indians are eligible. It is open to all nationalities.
• Trap 4: it is a Nobel-type award. It is India’s own.
• Trap 5: it is given every year without a break. It was withheld from 2006 to 2012.

7How has this been asked in exams?