Gita Press, the Gorakhpur-based publisher, has declined the cash component of the Gandhi Peace Prize award, amid controversy surrounding the Government’s decision to confer the accolade on the publisher known for its affordable religious books focused on Sanatan Dharma. Gita Press cited its long-standing tradition of not accepting donations as the reason for rejecting the cash prize of `1 crore.

Following the announcement of the award, the trustee board of Gita Press met and unanimously decided to decline the monetary portion while expressing gratitude for the honour. The renowned publisher, established in 1923, has faced financial challenges throughout its journey. The Ministry of Culture recognised Gita Press with the Gandhi Peace Prize for its exceptional contributions to social, economic, and political transformation through non-violent and Gandhian methods.

The announcement of the award to Gita Press was embroiled in a political controversy as Congress general secretary-in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh had on Sunday alleged that the decision to honour Gita Press with the Gandhi Peace Prize is a “travesty” and “it’s like awarding Savarkar and Godse”.

Responding to the Congress criticism, Union Minister Jitendra Singh hit out at the Opposition party saying nobody has any objection to it except those who consider Muslim League a secular organisation.

“Geeta Press is associated with India’s culture, our ethos and Hindu belief, and it produces affordable literature which reaches every household,” Singh said while replying to questions at a press conference at the BJP headquarters here.

 Asked about Ramesh’s remark, Singh said, “And, who are those levelling allegations? They are those who say that Muslim League was secular.”

 The Congress forgot that it was the Muslim League “which gave two nation theory, got India partitioned and took credit for the creation of Pakistan,” the Union Minister said. “I think getting into these kinds of debates is a sheer waste of energy,” he said.

 He was referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks during the US tour that the Kerala-based Indian Union of Muslim League is a completely secular party and there is nothing non-secular about it. Rahul was answering a question about his party’s alliance with the regional party. Without taking names, Singh said nobody has any objection to Gita Press getting the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 except “two leaders of the Congress”.

The Gandhi Peace Prize, instituted in 1995, aims to honour individuals without any discrimination and includes a cash prize, citation, plaque, and traditional handicraft or handloom item. Gita Press is praised for its dedication to spreading holy books, enriching India’s Sanatan culture, and making spiritual texts accessible to the masses.

Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Culture Ministry for bestowing the prestigious award, Gita Press manager Lalmani Tripathi stated, “It is a matter of great honour for us. It is our principle not to accept any kind of donations, so the trustee board has decided not to take the award in any monetary form.”

However, we will certainly accept the award for the honour of it.”

The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 will be conferred on Gita Press, Gorakhpur, in recognition of its “outstanding contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods”, the Ministry of Culture announced on Sunday.

“Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 recognises the important and unparalleled contribution of Gita Press, in contributing to collective uplift of humanity, which personifies Gandhian living in true sense,” the statement said.

The jury headed by the Prime Minister unanimously decided to select Gita Press as the recipient of the prize, the Ministry said in a statement.

The publisher thanked the Prime Minister and the Union Culture Ministry for conferring the prestigious award on it.

 “It is a matter of great honour for us. It is our principle not to accept any kind of donations, so the trustee board has decided not to take the award in any monetary form. However, we will certainly accept the award for the honour of it,” Gita Press manager Tripathi told reporters Monday at Gorakhpur.

 Trustee board chairman Keshav Ram Agarwal, general secretary Vishnu Prasad Chandgotia and trustee Devi Dayal look after the management of the press, Tripathi said.

Gita Press is the world’s largest publisher of Hindu religious texts and it was founded in 1923 by Jaya Dayal Goyanka and Ghanshyam Das Jalan for promoting the principles of Sanatan Dharma.

 The press has published more than 93 crore books so far and all the publishing work of the press is done in Gorakhpur.

 Tripathi said they publish 1,800 types of books in 15 languages.

“In the financial year 2022-23, we provided 2 crore 40 lakh books to our readers and despite its low cost, the monetary value of the books is Rs 111 crore. The demand of the books is very high and despite all efforts, we are not able to meet the demand for the books,” Tripathi said.

 “Two leaders of Congress have objections just because they have to criticise... Gita Press is associated with India’s culture. They did not partition the country, like the Muslim League did,” the Minister added.

The Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the Government in 1995, on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi.

The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender. The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item, the ministry said.

Recent awardees include Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Oman (2019) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2020), Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah complimented the Gita Press for being awarded with the Gandhi Peace Prize and said it has been doing a wonderful job of selflessly taking several holy books to the masses.

“If India’s glorious ancient Sanatan culture and base texts can be read easily today, the Gita Press has an incomparable contribution in this. For more than 100 years, the Gita Press has been doing a wonderful job of selflessly taking many holy books from Ramcharit Manas to Shrimad Bhagwad Gita to the masses,” Shah said in a tweet in Hindi.