The Samikhsya Bureau
NEW DELHI: The coveted Gandhi Peace Prize, instituted in honour of India’s “Father of the Nation” would be conferred posthumously on Bangladesh’s “Father of the Nation” Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The annual award has been instituted by the Government of India since 1995, the 125th birth anniversary commemoration year of Mahatma Gandhi.
“The honour for the year 2020 will be conferred on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s ‘Father of the Nation’ and its first President,” Ministry of Culture has announced.
“The Government of Bangladesh acknowledges with deep gratitude the decision of the Government of India to confer the Gandhi Peace Prize 2020 to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, posthumously for the first time’, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh acknowledged.
‘It is an honour for Bangladesh and its people for the Father of the Nation to be bestowed with this prestigious award,’ it stated.
The award is also a befitting tribute to the ever-deepening Bangladesh-India relations in a year when both countries are jointly celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s Independence, 50 years of diplomatic relations and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu, it added.
The jury for Gandhi Peace Prize is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comprises the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the single largest Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
