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 jury headed by Prime Minister Modi unanimously decided to select Gita Press as the recipient of the award.
Established in 1923, Gita Press is one of the world’s largest publishers, having published 417 million books in 14 languages, including 162 million Shrimad Bhagvad Gita.
Instituted by the government in 1995, the Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award 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 a cash prize of ₹1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item.
The past awardees include organisations such as ISRO and Ramakrishna Mission.
The prestigious award has also been awarded to luminaries like Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa and Julius Nyerere, former president of Tanzania among many other personalities.
Some recent awardees include Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Oman (2019) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2020), Bangladesh.