Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 to be conferred on 100-year-old Gita Press

The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 is all set to 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”.

Announcing the prize winner, a ministry of culture statement said that the jury headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi unanimously decided to select Gita Press, Gorakhpur as the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize.

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 statement said.

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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 copies of the Shrimad Bhagvad Gita, it said.

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

What is the Gandhi Peace Prize?

The Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the government in 1995, on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Bapu.

The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender. The award carries an amount of ₹1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item, the ministry said.

Recent awardees include Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Oman (2019) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2020), Bangladesh.