The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to European Union (EU), a debt ridden loose group of countries, on the verge of collapse. This has again made a mockery of the Peace Prize. Earlier, the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for President Obama had drawn considerable criticism. It was a big surprise for everyone including to Obama himself as he had been the President only for nine months. He had yet to deliver meaningful results. Obama had himself humbly admitted that he did not deserve the award. This award gives further credence to the past accusations that the Nobel Peace Prize has become a political award.
Mahatma (The Great Soul) Gandhi, the very apostle of Peace, was not chosen for the Peace Prize despite being nominated five times, the last time in 1948, just before his assassination, presumably because Norway was afraid to annoy the British Government. The Selection Committee was ashamed enough that they did not award the 1948 Peace Prize to anyone else
Gandhi not only mobilized India’s 330 million people to freedom from 200 years of British Rule, but he also achieved this by using non-violent means. Upon Gandhi’s death Albert Einstein said, “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.”
Gandhi’s example of non-violent resistance was subsequently emulated by many leaders in various parts of the world in fighting against oppression and injustice. Two leaders who followed Gandhi’s path of non-violent struggle including America’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and South Africa’s Rev. Tutu have been recognized with the award of Nobel Peace Prize; however Gandhi is not.
Interestingly, Gandhi’s popularity has kept growing with the passage of time. His statues are built and streets are named for him around the world. Whenever peaceful resistance against injustice is discussed, people talk of Gandhi’s way. It is clear that Gandhi does not need the Peace Prize. Instead, the Peace Prize needs Gandhi for its credibility.
Denial of Peace Prize to Gandhi was an unjust act of cowardice and stupidity. Recently, the Nobel Foundation did regret its mistake. While the Nobel Foundation needs to do a serious evaluation of the selection process for the Peace Prize, the first step is to correct this historic wrong by awarding the 1948 Peace Prize posthumously to Gandhi. Nobel Foundation gives the excuse that the Nobel Prize cannot be awarded posthumously. However, according to Wikepedia, this change in Statues of the Nobel Foundation has happened in 1974. Before that in 1961 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded posthumously to Dag Hammarskjold and in 1931 the Nobel Prize in Literature was posthumously awarded to Eric Alex Karlfeldt. The 1948 Nobel Peace Prize should therefore be awarded posthumously to Gandhi. An exception to Nobel Foundation’s current living person rule is justified for this purpose. Otherwise the Nobel Peace Prize will remain tainted forever.
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