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Indira Gandhi Peace prize for Hamid Karzai

     New Delhi: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been chosen for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2005. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, the Secretary of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust that confers the award, announced this, saying that the jury had unanimously decided to confer the award on President Karzai. "The jury met and unanimously decided to confer the 2005 award on the first democratically-elected President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai", said Dikshit.

     President APJ Abdul Kalam on Saturday awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2004 to Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn at a glittering ceremony here. A Sanskrit scholar, the princess is keenly interested in epigraphy. She has a great interest in India and its culture, music, religion etc. She has been working to uplift the condition of the poor and needy, empowerment of women, and in development projects in Thailand. The award giving ceremony was attended by Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Dr Mammohan Singh, UPA Chairperson and the president of the AICC Sonia Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit among others. The award which is given for extraordinary accomplishments in the field of peace and development has been awarded 17 times previously. The Princess has been honoured in recognition for the great services rendered by her to mankind. "The Indira Gandhi Award commemorates an extraordinary woman of historic accomplishment. Her Royal Highness has earned the affection, goodwill and respect through her numerous achievements and numerous prolific writings", said Sonia Gandhi in her speech during the ceremony.

    The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, said that India and Thailand are jointly seeking a future, in which our shared past and current commonalities fuel our search for a more co-operative tomorrow. Recalling Indira Gandhi's zealous commitment to global peace, universal disarmament and development among nations and to the welfare of every citizen, irrespective of creed, class, caste or community, the Prime Minister said she was a great daughter of Asia. He also described Princess Sirindhorn as a highly respected personality "in our country as she is in her own." " We know her as a keen scholar of Sanskrit and as a devout Buddhist. But Her Royal Highness is all these and more. Her life and work prove that she is a great citizen of the world. Her work in the service of children, and in preservation of the culture of her people, consistently shows us how much we can achieve if we are only motivated to do so. She is both an admirable representative of the Thai people, and an outstanding symbol of a great resurgent nation," Dr. Singh said. Indira Gandhi, Dr. Singh said "was the embodiment of the aspiration of the people of our country for a life of dignity and self-respect. She was a great statesman; a proud leader of the Indian people, indeed, she was an Asian and world leader who strode the world like a veritable colossus." "She was Indian to the core, but a modernist by instinct. Her commitment to the welfare of every citizen of our vast land irrespective of creed, class, caste or community was total," he said. In her speech, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn spoke against the use of deadly weapons. "We all hope that we could bring peace to this world and no one should use deadly weapons to destroy others", said the Princess. Apart from Sonia Gandhi, who is the president of Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, Delhi's Chief Minister Shiela Dixit, who is also the secretary of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, and members of Union Cabinet were present on the occasion.