HVK Archives: Ramakrishna Mission gets Gandhi Peace Prize
Ramakrishna Mission gets Gandhi Peace Prize - The Times of India
Shikha Mukerjee
()
February 14, 1999
Title: Ramakrishna Mission gets Gandhi Peace Prize
Author: Shikha Mukerjee
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 14, 1999
The Gandhi Peace Prize, India's highest honour, was awarded for
the first time to an institution - Ramakrishna Mission. In a
solemn ceremony, President K.R. Narayanan presented the
citation, plaque and Rs 1 crore prize to Swami Ranganathananda,
the newly appointed chief of the over a century-old order
established by Swami Vivekananda.
The citation notes that the Ramakrishna Mission "exemplifies the
Gandhian spirit of selfless and active social action". Offering
its services "irrespective of caste, creed and language", the
mission has promoted communal harmony by preaching and
practising harmony of religions, the citation states. Committed
to providing relief and rehabilitation for natural disaster
victims, education and health care, the Ramakrishna Mission has
also worked for women's empowerment through the Sarada Math and
Mission, the citation read.
Later Union human resources minister Murli Manohar Joshi handed
over a cheque for Rs 70 lakhs to the Ramakrishna Mission at
Belur Math for repair and renovation of Swami Vivekananda's
ancestral home. Another Rs 1 crore is being given for the
mission's institute of culture for buying land and expanding its
facilities.
West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu on Saturday said the
Ramakrishna Mission was an 'excellent' choice for the Gandhi
Peace Prize.
"Excellent, excellent," the veteran Marxist leader exclaimed
when newsmen at the Raj Bhavan wanted his comments on the
conferring of the prize to the Ramakrishna Mission.
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