President Kalam Confers Gandhi Peace prize 2005 on Archbishop Desmond Tutu
President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
has conferred the prestigious Gandhi
Peace Prize for the year 2005 on Archbishop Desmond Tutu. At a glittering function at Ashok Hall, Rashtrapati Bhawan here today, the Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh, several of his cabinet colleagues, UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia
Gandhi and other distinguished guests were present on the occasion.
Born on October 7, 1931, Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a South
African Cleric and activist, the first black person to lead the Anglican Church
in South Africa. He rose to world-wide
fame as an opponent of apartheid. He
consistently worked for reconciliation among all parties involved in apartheid
through his writings and lectures at home and abroad. For his role as a unifying leader figure in the campaign to
resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa, he was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in October, 1984. After the
fall of apartheid he headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for which
he was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in 1999.
He has strongly advocated human rights and democracy in
Palestine and Indonesia. His championship of democratic rights and criticism of
human rights abuse has been consistent and a great moral support to the
oppressed everywhere.
According to the citation released
on the occasion, “The 2005 Gandhi Peace Prize is being awarded to Nobel
Laureate and Human Rights Activist Archishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu, in recognition
of his invaluable contribution towards social and political transformation and
forging equality in South Africa through dialogue and tolerance. He has been a tireless and staunch exponent
of Mahatma Gandhi’s methodology of non-violent action…”
The citation further said, “By
honouring this noble human being with the Gandhi Peace Prize in this historic
year of the centenary of the birth of Satyagraha, India acknowledges her debt
to South Africa for helping a young lawyer find his moorings and take him to
the heights of becoming a Mahatma – a great soul. Like Mahatma Gandhi,
Archbishop Tutu, too, became the ‘voice of the voiceless’….”
It further said, “Archbishop
Desmond Tutu is a rare person who has kept the faith in the efficacy of Truth
and Non-Violence alive and inspired hope that in these testing times mankind’s
salvation lies in the application of the power of Satyagraha.”
Government
of India had launched the Gandhi Peace Prize in 1995 on the occasion of 125th
birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Award is given for outstanding work and contribution to social,
economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian
methods. The Award carries an amount of
Rs.1crore or its equivalent in foreign currency and a Citation. The Jury for selection of the awardees from
amongst the nominees comprises of five members i.e. Prime Minister of India (Chairman),
the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, The Chief Justice of India and two other
eminent persons. Presently, Shri R. Venkataraman, former President of India and
Shri I.K. Gujral, former Prime Minister of India are the two members of the
Jury in this category.
So far the prize has been awarded to:
(i) Dr. Julius Nyerere, 1995
Former
President of Tanzania
(ii) Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne 1996
Founder
President of Sarvodaya
Movement
in Sri Lanka
(iii) Dr. Gerhard Fischer
(Federal Republic of Germany} 1997
(iv) Ramakrishna Mission
(India) 1998
(v) Baba Amte (Shri Murlidhar Devidas Amte), India 1999
(vi) Dr. Nelson Mandela, Former President of South 2000
Africa
and Grameen Bank of Bangladesh
(vii) Mr. John Hume
(Ireland) 2001
(viii) Bhartiya Vidya
Bhawan (India) 2002
(ix) Mr. Vaclav Havel 2003
Former President of Czechoslovakia
***
AD/SK
(Release ID :24450)