M A I N   N E W S

Hume to get Rs 1-cr Gandhi Peace Prize

New Delhi, December 7
Nobel Laureate John Hume, the main architect of the Northern Ireland peace process, has been chosen for the Rs 1 crore Gandhi Peace Prize for 2001, the Tourism and Culture Minister, Mr Jagmohan, announced today.

Mr Hume, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 with Mr David Trimble, personifies Gandhian principles of non-violence and has put it to practical use for social, economic and political transformation, Mr Jagmohan told newspersons. He has been a dominant figure and instrumental in heralding a new era of justice, peace and reconciliation in Ireland.

A jury chaired by the Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Ms Sonia Gandhi, former President, Mr R. Venkataraman, a former Prime Minister I. K Gujral, and the Chief Justice of India selected Mr Hume for the award from among 53 nominations.

A leader of the civil rights movement, Dr Hume has made a unique contribution to the formulation of the principles and strategies which underlie the historic Good Friday Agreement. He has suffered arrests, state violence, terrorist attacks and political vilification .

Instituted in 1995, on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the award has so far been given to former Tanzanian President Julius K.Nyerere, Dr A .T. Ariyaratne, founder President of the Sarvodaya Movement in Sri Lanka, Dr Gerhard Fischer of Germany, Baba Amte, Dr Nelson Mandela and the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. UNI