The Nobel Prize for Peace has awarded 95 peace awards from 1901-2014 and many to honor in future but how many of them were given to people stood purely for peace in litterly terms, is still a reasonable question. There must be some valid criterion for the nominees and winner and probably a responsible team to take historically decisions but still some historical blunders and omission can be seen in the history of this world famous award.
Mahatma Gandhi and Abdul Sattar Edhi are a few cases that can be argued with pragmatic evidences. Gandhi, who has transformed Hinduism, inspired Martin Luther King to liberate Americans from their Bigotry and is now called the apostle of peace, was rejected four times declaring pure Indian nationalist.
Dr Abdul Sattar Edhi is the most eligible personality for such reorganization on the parameters of contribution to society and humanity. Dr Abdul Sattar Edhi was recommended by then Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2011, for his wide association with social services through his world famous foundation Edhi; imparting social awareness and courage to humanitarianism, but never chosen. He currently houses more than 6,000 destitute persons, saved 20,000 abandoned babies, raised 50,000 orphans. Is this much contribution still insufficient to prove the unjustifiable partial ignorance of Nobel Prize Committee?
Let’s suppose the Nobel Committee has such strict procedures, it could have been much easier to ignore Henry Kissinger, Yasir Arafat, Al Gore and Barak Obama on their contribution to peace.
Malala Yousaf Zai is said to be awarded the 2014 peace award for her struggle for child education at the age of 17. In fact this may be a good news for many Pakistanis but I am totally bewildered at the decision of the Nobel Committee who could see Malalas’s four years struggle for children but were not bother to think about Abdul Sattar Edhi life long struggle. Could Malala have done more than Edhi has in last 60 years and was she more devoted than Gandhi and Edhi?
I think the Nobel Committee would have to explain once again for ignoring Abdul Sattar Edhi and awarding a sudden character, to restore the value of their award in the minds of people, and also what must have dignified the value of Noble award Abdul Sattar or Malala?
Tauqeer Ahmad
Peshawar, Pakistan
