Mahatma Gandhi was nominated in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and finally in 1948
On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s 154th birthday, the Nobel Prize jury gave an explanation of why Mohandas Gandhi, who became the 20th century’s poster child for nonviolence, was not given the honor.
Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize numerous times but never won it, according to New Delhi. The Nobel accolade panel gave an explanation of why Mohandas Gandhi, who became the 20th century’s poster child for nonviolence, was not given the accolade on the day of his 154th birthday.
He received nominations in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, and then just a few days prior to his murder in January 1948. Many people believe it was a mistake not to present Mahatma Gandhi with the award prior to his passing in 1948.
He was chosen as one of the thirteen candidates in 1937 after being recommended by Norwegian parliamentarian Ole Colbjornsen.
Gandhi was criticized by several members of the panel who claimed that he wasn’t always peaceful and that some of his nonviolent activities against the British would turn violent and terrorizing. They used the first Non-Cooperation Movement as an example, which occurred in 1920–1921, when a mob attacked a police station in Chauri Chaura, in the United Provinces of British India’s Gorakhpur region, and killed numerous officers.
The panel claimed that some people believed his principles were primarily Indian and not international. Jacob S. Worm-Muller, a consultant to the Nobel committee, stated: “One might say that it is significant that his well-known struggle in South Africa was on behalf of the Indians only, and not of the blacks whose living conditions were even worse.”
The 1937 award’s winner was Lord Cecil of Chelwood. Colbjornsen once more nominated Mahatma Gandhi in 1938 and 1939, but it would be eight years before Gandhi was again on the short list.
Mohandas Gandhi was one of the six candidates that the committee considered in 1947.
However, no one had ever received a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. In accordance with the Nobel Foundation’s then-current laws, posthumous awards of the prizes were permitted in some situations.
August Schou, the former director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, sought input from the Swedish organizations that bestowed prizes. The responses were unfavorable because they believed that posthumous awards shouldn’t be given out until the laureate passed away after the committee had made its choice.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided that “there was no suitable living candidate” in that year, hence there was no award given.
Mahatma Gandhi’s spot on the list of laureates was discreetly but respectfully left empty, contrary to popular belief.
Furthermore, until 1960, Europeans and Americans received the Nobel Peace Prize nearly exclusively.
Gandhi was distinguished from prior laureates, according to the panel, in many ways. He wasn’t a true politician, a supporter of international law, a humanitarian aid worker in the traditional sense, or a coordinator of international peace congresses. He would have been a member of a new generation of laureates,” it stated.