Baba Amte to get Gandhi Peace Prize

NEW DELHI, Nov 25 (PTI) — Gandhian and noted social worker Baba Amte has been chosen for the coveted 'Gandhi Peace Prize for 1999 for his exemplary work for treatment and rehabilitation of leprosy patients and his concept of the "Shramik Vidyapeeth."

A high powered jury chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee unanimously decided to confer the award on the 85-year-old Amte, Union Minister for Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Ananth Kumar told reporters here today.

Other members of jury were Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sonia Gandhi, Chief Justice of India Justice A S Anand, former President R Venkataraman and A T Ariyaratne of Sri Lanka.
Instituted by the Centre, the award carrying a cash amount of Rs 1 crore, would be given by President K R Narayanan at a function in the first quarter of 2000, Mr Ananth Kumar said, adding Amte had accepted the award.

The previous recipients of the award are: Julius Nyerere, former President of Tanzania, A T Ariyaratne, founder of Germany and the Ramakrishna Mission.

Gandhi Peace Prize is the highest award given by the Centre in any field to suitably acknowledge the contribution that the Gandhian approach in making at the global level towards peace and harmony.

Mr Ananth Kumar said 34 nominations were received of which 27 pertained to individuals and seven to organisations.

Talking about Amte he said, his crusade against leprosy and the popular misconceptions about the disease, Amte established "Anandvan," a place near Pune as a model of social reconstruction.

Amte has been propagating unique plans for building a "new India" among India's youth in the shape of lok biradari (people's brotherhood) in remote tribal areas.

"The secret of Baba's success is to be found in his indomitable determination, self-renunciation and teaching the patients to manage their own institutions with meticulous efficiency," the minister said, adding "Baba has truly upheld all his Gandhian values and emerged as a beacon light to the youth of the country on the eve of the millennium."