In the Name of Peace

The Nobel Peace Prize “The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- - -/ one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” (Excerpt from the will of Alfred Nobel) Every time I hear of a new winner announced for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, there is curiosity and then the bitter taste of bile. Why, you might wonder? Well, I think the prize lost permanent sheen when it failed to take cognizance of an Indian gentleman called M.K. Gandhi who took on the might of the British Empire and rattled it for good measure all in the name of peace and independence. He would have been an outstanding example as a torch bearer for peace. Gandhi did not get the prize. I'm not sure he cared, but the committee that awards the prize does and recently 'regretted' that they failed to recognize the man and his amazing greatness. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee of five persons who are chosen by the Norwegian Storting (Parliament of Norway), Oslo, Norway. It is no surprise that, a 'spiritual' Guru from Bangalore was said to have made frequent trips to the Scandinavian capital to canvass for the medal for himself. Apparently he did not make the cut and returned disappointed. Maybe he should read Alfred Nobel's will a tad more carefully. Squatting on vast tracts of land in a third world country does not qualify one as a potential for the medal. Some prize winners are: 2009 Barack H. Obama 1994 Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin 1990 Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev 1983 Lech Walesa The last named a shipyard worker at Gdansk in Poland took on the might of the Soviet Union and lead Poland to freedom while Gorbachev was the architect of the breakup of the Soviet Union. Both events suited the West. Gandhi's movement quite does not fall into that category does it? I would be very impressed if the Peace Prize would go to Fidel Castro. Remember old Fidel kicked a corrupt President Batista out of Cuba in a people's revolution and has since thumbed his nose at the collective West. Who are people who received the prize around Gandhis moment in the sun in 1947? 1950 Ralph Bunche 1949 Lord (John) Boyd Orr of Brechin 1948 No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section. 1947 Friends Service Council (The Quakers), American Friends Service Committee (The Quakers) 1946 Emily Greene Balch, John Raleigh Mott 1945 Cordell Hull. Brunche and Hull were both American diplomats/politicians who were involved with Palestine and the United Nations. The first a simmering quagmire of hate and violence and the second being close to being defunct. In the midst of this was this little man who was leading India to freedom, while the Quakers were receiving the medal. I would not be surprised if the Guru from our own Bengaluru, has the little shiny around his neck one of these days!