On Monday, Gita Press, Gorakhpur, declined the cash reward of Rs 1 crore that is included with the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021. The publisher stated that it would only accept the citation and not the cash reward.
Reportedly, the publisher has suggested that the Central government should spend this cash reward on some other worthy cause.
Apart from the cash prize of Rs 1 crore, the Gandhi Peace Prize also includes a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item.
Gita Press conferred with Gandhi Peace Prize 2021
A day earlier, on the 18th of June, a jury headed by PM Modi unanimously decided to confer the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 on Gita Press, which is based out of Gorakhpur.
In its official statement, the Cultural Ministry stated that this was done to recognise Geeta Press’ outstanding contribution towards social, economic, and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods.
From his official Twitter handle, PM Modi congratulated Gita Press for being selected for the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021.
The Prime Minister wrote, “They have done commendable work over the last 100 years towards furthering social and cultural transformations among the people.”
I congratulate Gita Press, Gorakhpur on being conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021. They have done commendable work over the last 100 years towards furthering social and cultural transformations among the people. @GitaPress https://t.co/B9DmkE9AvS
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 18, 2023
Gita Press was founded in 1923 by Jaya Dayal Goyanka and Ghanshyam Das Jalan for promoting the principles of Sanatana Dharma. Currently, they publish copies of Shrimad Bhagvad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Ramcharitmanas, various Hindu scriptures like Puranas and Upanishads, other books related to Hinduism, books of Bhajans and Bhakta-Gathas, and others.
The texts are published in several languages including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali, Oriya, and other Indian languages.
Congress and pseudo-seculars got miffed over this announcement
The announcement of awarding the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 to one of the world’s largest publishers, Gita Press, didn’t go down well with Congress and its so-called left-liberal ecosystem. Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications and MP Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter to condemn the selection. He called the move a “travesty” and equivalent to “awarding Savarkar and Godse”.
The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 has been conferred on the Gita Press at Gorakhpur which is celebrating its centenary this year. There is a very fine biography from 2015 of this organisation by Akshaya Mukul in which he unearths the stormy relations it had with the Mahatma and the… pic.twitter.com/PqoOXa90e6
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 18, 2023
The history of Gita Press turning down donations and cash rewards
This is not the first time that Gita Press has refused to accept cash rewards. It has been turning down requests for donations despite relentless fake news and smear campaigns about its financial health.
From time to time, certain vested interest groups have been floating the rumour of Gita Press shutting down because of financial constraints. Back in 2021, OpIndia busted these fake stories and rumours about Gita Press closing down its operations.
Talking to OpIndia, Lalmani Tiwari, the Manager of Gita Press had said, “If someone sends us a cheque as a donation, we humbly reply to them with a letter of appreciation and return the cheque. Gita Press Gorakhpur is doing well, and we prefer to serve the community with our books.”
Till now, Gita Press has published 41.7 crore books in 14 different languages including 16.21 crore copies of Shrimad Bhagvad Gita.
