Matter of great honour to be conferred Gandhi Peace Prize: Gita Press

Gorakhpur (UP): Gita Press on Monday said it was a matter of great honour to be conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize, but the publisher would not accept the cash component of the award keeping with its tradition of not receiving any kind of donations.

The trustee board of the press met here late on Sunday after the award was announced and decided not to receive the cash component of Rs 1 crore.

The publisher thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Culture Ministry for conferring the prestigious award on it.

"It is a matter of great honour for us. It is our principle not to accept any kind of donations, so the trustee board has decided not to take the award in any monetary form. However, we will certainly accept the award for the honour of it," Gita Press manager Lalmani Tripathi told reporters Monday.

Trustee board chairman Keshav Ram Agarwal, general secretary Vishnu Prasad Chandgotia and trustee Devi Dayal look after the management of the press, Tripathi said.

A wave of happiness prevailed in Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, where the press is located, 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.

The press has published more than 93 crore books so far and all the publishing work of the press is done in Gorakhpur.

Tripathi said they publish 1,800 types of books in 15 languages.

"In the financial year 2022-23, we provided 2 crore 40 lakh books to our readers and despite its low cost, the monetary value of the books is Rs 111 crore. The demand of the books is very high and despite all efforts, we are not able to meet the demand for the books," Tripathi said.

The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 will be conferred on Gita Press, Gorakhpur, in recognition of its "outstanding contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods", the Ministry of Culture announced on Sunday.

The jury headed by the prime minister unanimously decided to select Gita Press as the recipient of the prize, the ministry said in a statement.

"Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 recognises the important and unparalleled contribution of Gita Press, in contributing to collective upliftment of humanity, which personifies Gandhian living in true sense," the statement said.

Prime Minister Modi has congratulated Gita Press for winning the prize and commended their contribution in the field.

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.