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Ramakrishna Mission wins prestigious Gandhi Prize

The Ramakrishna Mission has been awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize for 1998 for its pioneering role in social, economic, and political transformation through non-violence. This was announced in New Delhi today by Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi.

The prize carries a cash award of Rs 10 million, a citation, and a plaque.

This is the first time an organisation has bagged this international award since it was instituted in 1995.

The award will be presented at a ceremony in January by President K R Narayanan.

A jury chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee unanimously chose the Ramakrishna Mission for the prestigious award. The other members of the jury were Chief Justice of India Madan Mohan Punchhi, Leader of the Opposition Sharad Pawar, former President Ramaswamy Venkataraman and 1996 Gandhi Prize winner Dr A T Ariyaratne of Sri Lanka.

Dr Joshi said the mission was chosen, from among 53 nominees, for its charitable and philanthropic work. "This prize honours the commitment and contribution of the mission towards the amelioration of human suffering and undertaking activities which are close to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi," he said.

The minister also announced the government's decision to sanction Rs 14 million for the repair of Swami Vivekanand's ancestral house in Calcutta.

The Ramakrishna Mission has been working among the disadvantaged sections of society to remove ignorance, poverty, and hatred. It runs schools, colleges, hospitals, and orphanages. It also preaches religious tolerance and the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhans through books, journals, and lectures.

Founded by Swami Vivekanand in 1897, the mission today has 135 branches in different parts of India and in countries like Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Switzerland, Argentina, Fiji, Japan, and Russia.

Former Tanzanian president Julius K Nyerere was the first recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize. Dr Ariyaratne, a social scientist, won the award in 1996 while Dr Gerhard Fischer, former German diplomat, was the winner in 1997.

Nominations for the prize were invited from individuals and organisations all over the world, including MPs, Nobel laureates, the United Nations secretary-general, vice-chancellors, heads of institutions conducting studies and research in non-violence and Gandhian principles, the Commonwealth secretary-general, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Union, the International Parliamentary Union, governors and chief ministers.

UNI

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