Govt conferred Gandhi Peace Prize 2020 to Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and for 2019 to Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said

The Union government conferred Gandhi Peace Prize to the Late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman for the year 2019 and to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, for the year 2020.

• The Jury of Gandhi Peace Prize is chaired by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi

About Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said: 

• The visionary leader of Oman who died in January 2020 was conferred with Gandhi peace prize, 2019 for recognizing his outstanding contributions for social, economic and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods and,
• His twin policy of moderation and mediation in addressing international issues.
• He had studied in India and also received the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 2004.

 About Sheikh Mujibur Rahman:

• He is the “Father of the Nation” of Bangladesh who is conferred with the Gandhi peace prize 2020 for recognizing his close and fraternal relations between India and Bangladesh and, promoting peace and non-violence in the Indian subcontinent.
• On 17th December 2020, Indian post has released a commemorative postage stamp on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
• The Government of Bangladesh has declared the year 2020-21 as the Mujib Year
• He is popularly dubbed with the title of “Bangabandhu”.

The Jury of Gandhi Peace Prize:

• It is chaired by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and comprises two ex-officio members, namely the Chief Justice of India and Leader of the single largest Opposition Party in Lok Sabha.
• Other Two members of the Jury were Shri Om Birla, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and Shri Bindeshwar Pathak, Founder of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation.

Recent Related News:

On November 13, 2020, 17-year-old Sadat Rahman from Bangladesh won the International Children’s Peace Prize 2020 for his involvement in setting up his social organization and creating the mobile application ‘Cyber Teens’ to end cyberbullying. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai presented the award to Sadat Rahman, during a ceremony in the Netherlands.

About Gandhi Peace Prize:

• The Government of India (GoI) launched the International Gandhi Peace Prize in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Gandhi.
• The award is open to all people regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or sex.
• The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/ handloom item.
• 2018 awardee –  Yohei Sasakawa, Goodwill Ambassador of the World Health Organization for Leprosy Eradication
• Total awarded – 19