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| Edited By: Sudhir Chaudhary |Source: DNA |Updated: Feb 07, 2018, 08:13 AM IST
On January 30, 1948, Gandhiji was killed. This year marks his 70th death anniversary. Twice every year, on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October 2, and his death anniversary on January 30, the country remembers the ‘Father of the Nation’. Both these dates are celebrated amidst much fanfare; there are seminars and conferences across the country. Long lectures abound. Intellectuals and politicians prepare notes of their speeches based on Gandhi’s ideas.
But, sadly, once these occasions end, Gandhi’s ideas are put into the freezer. India respects Gandhi but ignores his message. Unfortunately, Gandhiji’s contribution has been largely forgotten by the Indian state and the society.
In the history of human civilisation, Mahatma Gandhi is unique for devising an unprecedented strategy of protest. He proved that one can oppose a powerful and oppressive regime without hurting anyone physically; through the most peaceful of means, one can bring about a change.
Gandhi’s ideas of non-violence and non-cooperation were an inspiration to the rest of the world. Human rights activist Martin Luther King who fought for the civil rights of the African-Americans took his political and ideological lessons from Gandhiji.
Similarly, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela infused his politics with Gandhi’s ideas and action plans.
It is undeniable, how 70 years after his death, Gandhiji continues to be relevant to the rest of the world.
Not to mention, one political family in India who retained power through decades using their ‘Gandhi’ surname.
Notwithstanding the profound influence Gandhiji exercised across space and time, he did not receive the Nobel Prize. Perhaps, Gandhiji was bigger than the prize. But another question crops up: whether there was a secret agenda that denied Gandhi of the Nobel Peace Prize. After all, the politics surrounding the Nobel Prize is pretty well known to anyone who cares to explore.
Now, the committee responsible for awarding the Nobel Prize regrets that they did not give Gandhiji the award when he was alive and fighting for India’s freedom. What people, generally, think is that Norway’s Nobel Prize Committee did not want to upset the Britishers, who were India’s colonial master.
But in reality, appeasement was not the only reason.
Gandhiji was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize: in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and in 1948. In the first instance, a member of Norway’s Parliament proposed Gandhi’s name, but it was overlooked by the committee.
Our research revealed a letter written by Professor Jacob Worm-Muller, who served as a consultant advisor to the committee. Reading the letter makes it very clear that Worm-Muller praised Gandhi, but he also mentioned that he cannot trust the latter’s personality.
“He is undoubtedly a good, noble and ascetic person — a prominent man who is deservedly honoured and loved by the masses of India. But there are sharp turns in his policies, which can hardly be satisfactorily explained by his followers. He is a freedom fighter and a dictator, an idealist and a nationalist. He is frequently a Christ, but then, suddenly, an ordinary politician” Jacob Muller presented his thought in the year 1937 in front of the Committee. At that time, many people were unable to understand Gandhi’s ideology. Because, on the one hand, he was living a life of a saint, on the other hand, he was a lawyer. Gandhi, while speaking about truth, non-violence and morality, was also fully aware of the working of the colonial machinery. This knowledge of the colonial system enabled Mahatma to counter the colonial rule like a seasoned politician. This is what the Nobel Committee, perhaps, found confusing. Is Gandhi a saint or a politician, they wondered.
What Prof. Muller mentioned about Gandhiji was unfortunate as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King received the Nobel Prize. And they were themselves followers of Gandhi. It is very surprising that those inspired by Gandhi got the Nobel Prize, but Gandhiji did not.
Though Gandhiji never expected any prize as an acknowledgement for his work.
After 1937, Gandhiji was nominated in 1938 and 1939, but his name was not even shortlisted. In 1947, it was expected that Gandhiji will receive the Nobel but again the committee did not consider him.
A Nobel Prize did not materialise for Gandhiji because there were many powerful forces that were influencing the decisions of the Nobel Committee and there were some international media houses too behind this who acted against the Mahatma’s nomination.
During that time, Gandhiji said in a rally that, “If such practices would continue, then India might declare war against Pakistan.”
This report was published in Britain’s newspaper “The Times” which went against Gandhi. Consequently, 3 of 5 jury members voted against him and Gandhi did not receive the Nobel Prize.
While the Nobel Committee kept itself busy trying to find violence in the non-violent politics of Mahatma, it did not hesitate to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Theodore Roosevelt, a former US President, who had been a career soldier.
In the year 1948, Gandhiji had a huge chance of winning the Nobel Prize but just two days before the announcement, he was assassinated. There had been no tradition of posthumous awarding of Nobel Prize. Even then there was a buzz that Gandhiji might be the first one to receive it after death, but in absence of a Trust or organisation which could have taken the prize in Gandhi’s absence, the idea was aborted.
That year the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to no one. On Gandhi’s 70th death anniversary, the Nobel Committee paid its tribute to Gandhi, stating “That year, the Nobel Committee decided to make no award on the grounds that “there was no suitable living candidate”. This definitely implies that Gandhi was the chosen candidate in 1948 and death robbed him of that honour.
Gandhiji, history has proven, does not need the Nobel Prize to exercise his influence. But the Nobel Committee needs Gandhiji to enhance its stature. If the Nobel Committee wants, it can rectify its past mistake easily.
Perhaps, it is about time that the Nobel Committee considers Mahatma Gandhi as the first posthumous awardee of the Nobel Prize.
The author is the Editor-In-Chief, Zee Media
