Why Gandhi didn't get Nobel Peace Prize?

New Delhi, Oct 11: Many fans of Mahatma Gandhi have won the Nobel Peace Prize with the lastest being US President Barack Obama but why was Gandhi bestowed with the honour despite being nominated five times?

The selection committee had given reasons why Gandhi was not conferred the honour, like "he was too much of an Indian nationalist" and that he was "frequently a Christ, but then, suddenly an ordinary politician."

Gandhi, who showed the world that anything can be achieved through 'Satyagrah' (passive resistance) and non-violence, was nominated for the award in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and finally a few days before he was martyred in Jan 1948.

According to the Nobel Foundation,"There are sharp turns in his policies which can hardly be satisfactorily explained by his followers...He is a freedom fighter and a dictator, an idealist and a nationalist. He is frequently a Christ, but then, suddenly an ordinary politician," he had commented.

Committee's adviser Seip wrote a report on Gandhi's activities during the last five months of his life.

"Gandhi, through his course of life, had put his profound mark on an ethical and political attitude which would prevail as a norm for a large number of people both inside and outside India. In this respect Gandhi can only be compared to the founders of religion," he said.

The committee explored the possibility of a posthumous award but it had its own doubts, a news agency report said.

"According to the statutes of the Nobel Foundation in force at that time, the Nobel Prize could, under certain circumstances, be awarded posthumously. Thus it was possible to give Gandhi the prize. However, Gandhi did not belong to an organisation."

OneIndia News