Opinion: Politics of Nobel Prize for Peace
July 11, 2025
  • Read Ecopy
  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • International
  • Opinion
  • Op Sindoor
  • More
    • Analysis
    • Sports
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Special Report
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • G20
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • Vocal4Local
    • Web Stories
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Law
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
MAGAZINE
  • ‌
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • International
  • Opinion
  • Op Sindoor
  • More
    • Analysis
    • Sports
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Special Report
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • G20
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • Vocal4Local
    • Web Stories
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Law
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
Organiser
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Operation Sindoor
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Culture
  • Defence
  • International Edition
  • RSS in News
  • Magazine
  • Read Ecopy
Home General

Opinion: Politics of Nobel Prize for Peace

by Archive Manager
Oct 21, 2014, 12:00 am IST
in General
FacebookTwitterWhatsAppTelegramEmail

 

Intro: The Nobel Peace Prize is ultimately a marketing tool to shine light on some serious issues in the world. Being a political award that focuses on the cause than an individual, the award deciding committee makes sure they strike balance by awarding competing countries and ethnic countries at the same time.

Intro: Jaya Jaitley, in an NDTV interview after the Nobel was announced, gave a less-than-glowing review of Satyarthi. Apparently she was quite familiar with his work from the 1980s before he got the Nobel, but she “found the selection of awards rather strange.”

If you thought, Nobel Peace Prizes are given by accident, you need to rethink. Considering the fact that individuals/ organisations work for social causes day and night, and yet do not get noticed or ranked for this award, it will be easier to understand the politics of the prize, if we understand the fact that there is no ranking of scale when it comes to these awards, and that these prizes are engineered, timed and are given to put adequate political pressure on something.
If you look at the history of Nobel Peace prizes, you notice, the award is given often to help certain causes get attention. Let us walk you through a few awards to ascertain what we said- In 1964, Martin Luther King Junior got the award. The award gave him and his cause the much needed attention and eventually resulted in putting pressure for the range of new acts starting from Civil Rights Act of 1964.
At a time when protests for fundamental rights were growing louder in China, 2010 Noble Peace prize was given to Chinese literary critic Liu Xiaobo. When the award was given to Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991, it immediately brought focus on Burma and the democratic movement. To bring the attention of the leaders of the world to the impact of climate change, in 2007, it was given to Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore.
It is said each year the award is given based on a theme. And this year the theme was protecting children- India’s Kailash Stayarthi, and Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai got it. At a time when the tensions in the subcontinent is worsening, it is said it was ensured this time an Indian and a Pakistani, one Hindu and the other Muslim, got the prize.
Sankrant Sanu, wrote (as written for website Niti Central)-The announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize for Kailash Satyarthi was somewhat of a shock. Firstly he was practically unknown within India with journalists and others all shaking their heads and asking “Satyarthi who?” Secondly, the announcement from the Norwegian Nobel Committee was both politically charged and condescending:
The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism. Many other individuals and institutions in the international community have also contributed. It has been calculated that there are 168 million child labourers around the world today. In 2000, the figure was 78 million higher. The world has come closer to the goal of eliminating child labour.
Jaya Jaitley, in an NDTV interview after the Nobel was announced, also gave a less-than-glowing review of Satyarthi. Apparently she was quite familiar with his work from the 1980s before he got the Nobel, but she “found the selection of awards rather strange.”
She also mentioned that “We hadn’t heard much about his work lately. He has gotten a lot of international awards and there are some cynical comments on how these awards are selected.”
The Prize announcement also draws on the old theme of Western “parity” between India and Pakistan, and then calls out the purportedly “Hindu” and “Muslim” affiliations of the awardees. Now, going back at least 10 years we did not find the religion of the awardees mentioned in the Nobel Peace Prize announcement. Barack Obama is not called out as a Christian, nor are the affiliations of Marti Ahtisaari, Al Gore, Mohammad Yunus, or any of the other awardees called out. Why the necessity to call out Satyarthi as a Hindu?
Coming to Malala, and of how she is an extremely popular child activist who though espouses a Nobel cause, Sandeep Singh writes, has still not addressed many issues affecting young Hindu girls in Pakistan- For instance, Rinkle Kumari, a 16 year old student of Mirpur Mathelo, a small village in the province of Sindh, was kidnapped to satisfy the lust of a Muslim scholar, in the evening of February 24, 2012 . The Muslim scholar had “political cover” provided by Mian Mittho, an elected National Assembly Member. Nand Lal, girl’s father and his family had to take refuge in a Gurdwara in Lahore after the complaint. On February 25, as soon as Rinkle saw her family in the court, she screamed before the judge and pleaded to let her go to her mother. The judge, however, had to inform her parents that if they insisted on taking Rinkle along, they would be responsible for the destruction that might follow–killing of 2,000 Hindus of district Ghotki.
The local judge ordered that the girl should be given to Muslims, because her conversion is “the result of a spontaneous decision” and also stated that the marriage was above board. This claim was repeated on February 27 at the hearing before the court, and the girl was “renamed” Faryal Shah. On March 26, Rinkle Kumari appeared before the Supreme Court in Islamabad. She said: in Pakistan, “there is no” justice, “kill me here but do not send me back” to the kidnappers. On April 18, 2012, the court handed Rinkle to her “husband” (kidnapper).
However, the story of Rinkle is not an isolated case: every month between 25 and 30 young girls, that is, about 300 girls a year are delivered into the hands of their torturers in Pakistan.
The Internet doesn’t say what happened to Rinkle after that fateful “judgment.” However, the Internet does have information about another 16-year old girl from Pakistan in great detail.
In the same year, another girl named Malala Yousafzai boarded her school bus in the district of Swat. A gunman fired three shots at her wounding her to near death. She was subsequently sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, for intensive treatment and recovery. On October 12, a group of
50 Islamic clerics in Pakistan issued
a fatwa against those who tried to
kill her.
Thereafter, United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown launched a UN petition, using the slogan “I am Malala”. The girl then appeared on the front cover of the April 29, 2013 issue of Time magazine, as one of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World“, and went on to become the winner of Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize, and Sakharov Prize, 2013. On October 16, 2013, the Government of Canada announced that the Parliament of Canada would confer Honorary Canadian citizenship upon her.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was the first to sign a petition requesting that Malala should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
On July 12, 2013, Malala’s 16th birthday, she spoke at the UN to call for worldwide access to education. The UN dubbed the event “Malala Day”. Ban Ki-moon, who also spoke at the session, described her as “our hero”. At the event, Malala also presented the chamber with “The Education We Want”, a Youth Resolution of education demands written by Youth for Youth, in a process coordinated by the UN Global Education First Youth Advocacy Group, telling her audience:
“Malala day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights.”
In February 2014, Malala was nominated for the World Children’s prize in Sweden. In April 2014, it was announced that she would be granted an honorary degree by the University of King’s College in Halifax. Malala then spoke before the United Nations in July 2013, and met with Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace, and in September 2013, she officially opened the Library of Birmingham. In the same month, she spoke at Harvard University, and in October she met with US President Barack Obama. In July 2014, Malala spoke at the Girl Summit in London, advocating for the rights for girls. It is perfectly understandable if Malala just didn’t have the time to speak for fellow girl Rinkle Kumari at all these events. I am not sure if Rinkle’s religion could have been a reason for it. I am also not sure that none of the countries which gave away awards including the Nobel Committee to Malala are still aware of the plight of girls like Rinkle Kumari and the religion they belong too?
                                                                        —Organiser Bureau

ShareTweetSendShareSend
✮ Subscribe Organiser YouTube Channel. ✮
✮ Join Organiser's WhatsApp channel for Nationalist views beyond the news. ✮
Previous News

Cover Story: Kajjaya ?

Next News

Birth Anniversary: Darjeeling Remembers

Related News

Visuals from the viral clip of the said incident

Madhya Pradesh: Ratlam tense after Muslim youth burns ‘Hindu Rashtra’ banner during Muharram procession 2025

India’s resolve on display, government stands firm as the US pushes for trade concessions

India stands firm as Trump escalates global tariff war; Only major power resisting US trade deal pressure

Why Congress’s Caste Census Push is a Political Gimmick, Not Social Justice

The caste census conundrum in Karnataka: A chronicle of chaos and unsatisfactory conclusions

Karnataka: High Court issues notice to CM Siddaramaiah’s wife in MUDA land scam

Kanhaiya Lal (Left) and son of Kanhaiya Lal, Yash Sahu (Right)

‘Despite having video evidence.. accused are walking free,’ son of Kanhaiya Lal on stay of film ‘Udaipur Files’

Clippings from the viral video in Bilaspur

Temples targeted during Muharram processions 2025: From Shiv Mandir in Hazaribagh to Devi mandir in Bilaspur

Load More

Comments

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Organiser. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.

Latest News

Visuals from the viral clip of the said incident

Madhya Pradesh: Ratlam tense after Muslim youth burns ‘Hindu Rashtra’ banner during Muharram procession 2025

India’s resolve on display, government stands firm as the US pushes for trade concessions

India stands firm as Trump escalates global tariff war; Only major power resisting US trade deal pressure

Why Congress’s Caste Census Push is a Political Gimmick, Not Social Justice

The caste census conundrum in Karnataka: A chronicle of chaos and unsatisfactory conclusions

Karnataka: High Court issues notice to CM Siddaramaiah’s wife in MUDA land scam

Kanhaiya Lal (Left) and son of Kanhaiya Lal, Yash Sahu (Right)

‘Despite having video evidence.. accused are walking free,’ son of Kanhaiya Lal on stay of film ‘Udaipur Files’

Clippings from the viral video in Bilaspur

Temples targeted during Muharram processions 2025: From Shiv Mandir in Hazaribagh to Devi mandir in Bilaspur

Poster for Udaipur Files

Delhi: High Court stays release of film ‘Udaipur Files’ featuring the beheading of tailor Kanhaiya Lal

Piyush Goyal Highlights India’s Solar Surge and Calls for Energy Supply Chain Resilience

Bharat achieves 4000 percent solar capacity growth: Piyush Goyal unveils Rs 1 Lakh Cr innovation push

A representative image

A Swachh Bharat Success Story: Agra leads urban waste revolution, converts landfill into eco-friendly green landmark

Journalist Rana Ayyub

Mumbai tax tribunal rules Rana Ayyub’s Rs 2.7 Crore COVID fund as taxable income, exposes misuse of donations

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Cookie Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation
  • Delivery and Shipping

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies

  • Home
  • Search Organiser
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • North America
    • South America
    • Europe
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • Operation Sindoor
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Defence
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Business
  • RSS in News
  • Entertainment
  • More ..
    • Sci & Tech
    • Vocal4Local
    • Special Report
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Politics
    • Law
    • Economy
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
  • Subscribe Magazine
  • Read Ecopy
  • Advertise
  • Circulation
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Policies & Terms
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Refund and Cancellation
    • Terms of Use

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies