Congress has said that the decision is a travesty and is like awarding Savarkar and Godse.
Ministry of Culture has announced that Gita Press in Gorakhpur will be conferred The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021. The award is being to the press in recognition of its outstanding contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods, according to an official statement.
Gita Press has been selected for the award by a jury headed by Prime Minister Modi. The publisher has said that it would not accept the cash component of Rs 1 crore of the award keeping with its tradition of not receiving any kind of donations.
Meanwhile, a controversy has erupted around the award being given to the press. Congress has criticised the government for the decision, saying it is a travesty and is like awarding Savarkar and Godse.
"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 & social agenda. The decision is really a travesty and is like awarding Savarkar and Godse," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.
Earlier, PM Modi congratulated Gita Press for winning the prize and commended its contribution to the field. "I congratulate 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. @GitaPress," PM Modi tweeted.
A wave of happiness prevailed in Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh as soon as the news came that it will be conferred the prize for 2021. 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.
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Gandhi Peace Prize
The Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the government in 1995, on the occasion of 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. The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item, the ministry said. Recent awardees include Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Oman (2019) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2020), Bangladesh.
(With inputs from agencies)
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 "Explained: What is the controversy around Gandhi Peace Prize for Gita Press in Gorakhpur?")
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