Gandhi Peace Prize row: Gita Press, Gorakhpur, one of the world’s largest publishers, said that it was a matter of great honour to be conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021. However, the publisher has refused to accept the Rs 1 crore cash reward amid controversy over being picked for the honour.
The Jury headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after due deliberations unanimously decided to select Gita Press, Gorakhpur as the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2021. 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 ministry said in a statement.
PM Modi congratulates Gita Press
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Gita Press, Gorakhpur on being conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021. “They have done commendable work over the last 100 years towards furthering social and cultural transformations among the people,” tweets PM Modi.
‘Matter of great honour for us’
Gita Press on Monday said the trustee board has decided not to take the award in any monetary form as it is their principle not to accept any kind of donations. “It is a matter of great honour for us. It is our principle not to accept any kind of donations, so the trustee board has decided not to take the award in any monetary form. However, we will certainly accept the award for the honour of it,” Gita Press manager Lalmani Tripathi told reporters Monday.
The trustee board of the press met here late on Sunday after the award was announced and decided not to receive the cash component of Rs 1 crore. The publisher thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Culture Ministry for conferring the prestigious award on it.
Trustee board chairman Keshav Ram Agarwal, general secretary Vishnu Prasad Chandgotia and trustee Devi Dayal look after the management of the press, Tripathi said. A wave of happiness prevailed in Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, where the press is located, as soon as the news came that it will be conferred the prize for 2021.
Gita Press publish 1,800 types of books in 15 languages
Gita Press is the world’s largest publisher of Hindu religious texts and it was founded in 1923 by Jaya Dayal Goyanka and Ghanshyam Das Jalan for promoting the principles of Sanatan Dharma. The press has published more than 93 crore books so far and all the publishing work of the press is done in Gorakhpur.
Tripathi said they publish 1,800 types of books in 15 languages. “In the financial year 2022-23, we provided 2 crore 40 lakh books to our readers and despite its low cost, the monetary value of the books is Rs 111 crore. The demand of the books is very high and despite all efforts, we are not able to meet the demand for the books,” Tripathi said.
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 organizations, strives for the betterment of life and the well-being of all.
Congress criticised awarding prize to Gita Press
The Congress, however, criticised awarding the prize to Gita Press and called it a “travesty”. The party’s general secretary-in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, “The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 has been conferred on the Gita Press at Gorakhpur which is celebrating its centenary this year.”
“There is a very fine biography from 2015 of this organisation by Akshaya Mukul in which he unearths the stormy relations it had with the Mahatma and the running battles it carried on with him on his political, religious and social agenda,” he said. “The decision is really a travesty and is like awarding Savarkar and Godse,” Ramesh said on Twitter.
Gandhi Peace Prize
The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 will 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”, the Ministry of Culture announced on Sunday. The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft or handloom item.
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 Mahatma Gandhi. The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender.
Past awardees include organizations 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 such as Late Dr. Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa. Dr. Julius Nyerere, Former President of Tanzania AT Ariyaratne, Founder President of Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, Sri Lanka Dr. Gerhard Fischer, Federal Republic of Germany; Mr. John Hume, Ireland; Vaclav Havel, former President of Czechoslovakia, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Shri 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.