Dear friends, How are you doing all?I am posting the article, which will appear in Korea Times on 21st and 22nd June,1999 under tha column "Thoughts of the Times". Read if you find time! Sincerely, Sanjeev. Savior of the Peace and Nobel Prize (I) More than a century has passed since the foundation of the world뭩 most prestigious award, Nobel Peace Prize. The founder of this Peace Prize, Alfred Nobel, is known as the inventor of the dynamite. When one of the Noble뭩 two brothers died in Russia, a Paris newspaper flashed the news on its front page as "The King of Death is Dead" mistakenly. Essentially a pacifist and a recluse, Alfred Nobel was rattled by the way the newspaper produced what was purported to be an obituary column. The pangs of conscience led to the establishment of the trust and the Noble Foundation known as the Nobelstiftlesen. A keen student of literature, Nobel was also a novelist and poet but never made it public. Diplomatic relations between Norway and Sweden were not smooth at that time. The Norwegian parliament was entrusted with selecting the peace prize awardees in the hope that Sweden and Norway would have better diplomatic relations. Alfred Nobel desired that the awards should carry the impress of an international character. He emphasized that no consideration should be given to the nationality of the candidate. But how can we explain the fact that most of the awardees hail from the United States and Western Europe? Public perception is that the Nobel Foundation encouraged the anti- communist views. Nobel Peace Prize has the prestige of being the most coveted award, but it is a tragedy also for the omissions of several deserving candidates. The most significant omission is Time뭩 probable choice of the "Man of the Century", Mahatma Gandhi, who was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Who could have been more suitable candidate for the coveted prize at that time, even at present we do not have anyone to compare with the great soul, Mahatma Gandhi? We read in the newspapers recently that it was increasingly difficult for the Nobel Peace Prize selection committee to find recipients for the coveted award. In recent years politicians, who first fought wars and then brought fragile and non lasting peace, have been selected for the prize. But sadly, the staunch disciple of peace known to mankind during this century was destined not to be awarded during his lifetime, and then not acknowledged because he was not alive anymore. Mahatma Gandhi was ignored for the Nobel Peace Prize. Was it simply an oversight or was there more to it? The Mahatma showed humanity a non-violent way of life and practiced it himself. He was first leader in the modern history who successfully wielded the weapon of passive resistance. Gandhi was a man who ceaselessly worked for the downtrodden - first in South Africa and then in India. He nursed the victims of British genocide in South Africa, the Zulus, the English-wounded and the Boer casualties. He nursed the plagued victims in Africa and India. Gandhi, by supporting the harijans (the untouchables in Indian caste system), braved ostracism from the society. He treated leprosy patients with his own hands; he sheltered hundreds of refugees and destitutes in his ashram (Shrine). Even if all his achievements are ignored, two of his actions were criteria enough to win him the peace prize twice over. During the ambulance corps days in the Boer war in South Africa, the Mahatma and his band of volunteers (they were serving the British), helped evacuate hundreds of wounded. They carried the soldiers on stretchers, trudging over 40 kilometers to the first-aid posts and field hospital tents right through battlefields amidst fierce fighting. Again, during the Zulu rebellion, he and his band worked ceaselessly to evacuate and provide medical facilities to the wounded on both sides. When the British doctors refused to treat Zulu warriors, it was Gandhi and his followers who took to nursing the natives, feeding and even bathing them. And all this while he was leading a passive resistance movement against the very same Britishers. Gandhi was a man who ceaselessly worked for the downtrodden -- first in South Africa and then in India. He nursed the victims of British genocide in South Africa, the Zulus, the English-wounded and the Boer casualties. He nursed plague victims in Africa and India. Gandhi, by supporting the harijans, the untouchables in the Indian caste system, braved ostracism from society. He treated leprosy patients with his own hands; he sheltered hundreds of refugees and destitutes in his ashram ( Shrine). Gandhi, who achieved all this without the support and patronage of the Church or the Christian West, was ignored by the Nobel peace committee. The Dalai Lama, the leader of the homeless Tibetans and a votary of non-violence and peace, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For mainly continuing the battle for his displaced people against the Chinese Communist invaders of his mountain kingdom. However unsuccessful his efforts may yet have been, it is admirable the way he continues, propagating the idea of international brotherhood. The Dalai Lama is a worthy recipient of the peace prize. One day he may lead his followers back to his mountain Shangrila on the wings of a non-violent freedom struggle. But Gandhi, who led two non-violent struggles (the first for human rights and equality in racist South Africa and the other for freedom from the British) was never considered good enough for the Nobel prize. He was not only the politician who fought against British rule in India but also a social reformer, thinker, philosopher and most honest man ever born on this earth. He was a scientist in the field of human behavior and social reforms. He performed certain valuable experiments in the social life. Using the principle of Non-violence and Truth. He was successful in his experiments. Not only he performed experiments in social life but also in private life. celibacy is one of the main experiments he performed successfully. He had numerous programs for the upliftment of downtrodden and needy people. He worked for untouchables (shameful system prevailed in India). He was true lover of Sarvodaya and throughout his life he worked for the same. He wanted to see the development of poorest among poorer and that too in the villages. Martin Luther King Junior and Nelson Mandela also appreciated the work of Mahatma Gandhi and used his principle in fighting against fundamental rights for their people. We can not ignore the efforts of the person who was the light of non-violence and taught us a new theory of non-violence.