Bhubaneswar: In India and abroad, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had become an epitome of non-violence in the 20th century. The Mahatma, who preached ahimsa and walked on the path of non-violence even during his fight against the British rule in India, certainly deserved a Nobel Peace Prize. But he hadn’t had the fortune of being awarded the prestigious honour. Reports claim that Gandhi, however, was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize five times – in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, and just days before his assassination in 1948.
So, why did the Nobel Committee didn’t choose him? There are several opinion, expressed by historians, on the reasons behind this omission. According to an article published by Gandhian Institutions : Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal & Gandhi Research Foundation, one of the reasons could be that Mahatma Gandhi did not fit into the traditional categories identified by the award committee.
They, as claimed in the article, believed that Gandhi was not a politician or proponent of international law, nor was he primarily a humanitarian relief worker or an organiser of international peace congresses. His approach to peace and non-violence was beyond their The Nobel Committee had concerns about Mahatma Gandhi’s pacifism. They were concerned about his involvement in the conflict between India and Pakistan in 1947.
Some members of the committee believed that Gandhi was too strongly committed to one side of the conflict. In those times, the Nobel Committee wouldn’t try to use the Peace Prize as a stimulus for peaceful settlement of regional conflicts unlike now.
That time, there was no precedent for posthumous awards. Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated two days before the closing date for the 1948 Nobel Peace Prize nominations.
Though the statutes of the Nobel Foundation at the time allowed for posthumous awards under certain circumstances, Mahatma Gandhi did not belong to an organisation. He had not left a will. There was no clarity as to who would receive the prize money.
But an entry in Norwegian economist Gunnar Jahn’s diary suggests that the Nobel Committee had considered a posthumous award for Mahatma Gandhi. When the committee, ended up not making such an award they decided to reserve the prize.