Sri Sri Ravi Shankar nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

New Delhi, Feb 24: Art of Living exponent Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and anti-child labour campaigner Kailash Satyarthi are among 191 prominent personalities including heads of state, rock stars and activists nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Satyarthi are the only two Indians on the list which has U2 frontman Bono, Irish rock star Bob Geldof, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Bono and Gedolf had organised the Live 8 concerts last year to seek more money from Western leaders for the impoverished Africa.

Israeli nuclear whistle blower Mordechai Vanunu, Austria's SOS Children's Villages and the controversial US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton also figure on the list.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and American entertainer Oprah Winfrey, Oxfam, the Salvation Army and Iraqi Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani are also believed to be among the nominees.

"This is the second highest number of nominations ever," said the Norwegian Awards Committee's non-voting secretary Geir Lundestad.

Last year, the awards committee had received 199 nominations, including for International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei.

UNI