Dalai Lama receives Gandhi Mandela Award: What is this honour

Calling him a “universal ambassador of peace”, Himachal Governor Arlekar said the Dalai Lama is perhaps the most deserving person in the world today for the award.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama receives the Gandhi Mandela award from Himachal Pradesh governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, on Saturday. (AP Photo)

The 14th Dalai Lama was Saturday conferred the Gandhi Mandela Award 2022 at Thekchen Choeling in Dharamshala’s McleodGanj by Himachal Pradesh governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, receiving the peace prize from the New Delhi-based Gandhi Mandela Foundation, said the qualities of non-violence and compassion had been ingrained in Indian culture for thousands of years.

Calling him a “universal ambassador of peace”, Governor Arlekar said the Dalai Lama is perhaps the most deserving person in the world today for the award.

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“The Gandhi Mandela Foundation is overwhelmed to accomplish the historical ceremony when the Gandhi Mandela Award is conferred to His Holiness Dalai Lama. We wish many congrats to all the peace lovers,” said the committee.

The event was attended by former Chief Justice of India Justice KG Balakrishnan and former Supreme Court Justice Gyan Sudha Misra.

What is the Gandhi Mandela Award?

A government of India registered Trust, the Gandhi Mandela Foundation is a non-profit organisation, formed with the motive to promote Mahatma Gandhi’s and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela’s values of non-violence. It has constituted an international prize, the Gandhi Mandela Award.

The foundation instituted the award on the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, MK Gandhi.

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Also Read | How a new play gives a fresh perspective to the Tibet-China conflict

Who gets the award and how are they selected?

The award is given to personalities who have carried forward the legacies of Gandhi and Mandela by making significant contributions in the fields of Peace, Social Welfare, Culture, Environment, Education, Healthcare, Sports and Innovation.

This time, the awardee, Dalai Lama, was selected by a jury including former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan and Justice Dipak Misra, former Supreme Court Judge Gyan Sudha Misra, former Chief Justice of Nepal Justice Kedarnath Upadhyay and former Chief Justice of Bangladesh Justice MD Tafazzul Islam.

Also Read | Tourists love Mcleodganj, but Himachal Pradesh govt doesn’t: rue voters of hill town

Eminent nominees of the Gandhi Mandela award

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Eminent nominations in the 1st Edition of the Gandhi Mandela Award in 2019 included Prime Minister of Nepal Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, first president of Bangladesh Late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, first president of Sri Lanka late Don Stephen Senanayake, former deputy Prime Minister of India Lal Krishna Advani and other head of states and governments.

Which other peace prize the Dalai Lama received?

The Tibetan spiritual leader is the recipient of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. “The Dalai Lama has developed his philosophy of peace from a great reverence for all things living and upon the concept of universal responsibility embracing all mankind as well as nature,” the Nobel website says. He has also received several other awards.

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