His Holiness The Dalai Lama was conferred with the first ever Gandhi Mandela Award on 19 November 2022 at a ceremony held at Thekchen Choeling, Dharmshala, HP, India. Hon’ble Governor of Himachal Pradesh H.E. Shri Rajendra Arlekar felicitated His Holiness in the presence of Jury Chairman Justice KG Balakrishnan, Vice-Chairman Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, GMF Secretary General Sh Nandan Jha and GMF President Sh Shyam Jaju. A jury consisting of five Chief Justices from three countries selected him for his outstanding contribution towards Global Peace and Harmony.

Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh | Gandhi Mandela Foundation conferred the Gandhi Mandela Award 2019 upon the Dalai Lama today.

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar presented the award to him at the event. pic.twitter.com/vLw9UqT1Gh

— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2022

His Holiness the @DalaiLama of Tibet is awarded the first Gandhi-Mandela Gold medal by the Gandhi-Mandela Foundation this morning at Thekchen Choeling Tsuklakhang in #Dharamshala. pic.twitter.com/7lou4dqJTF

— Kalsang Jigme བོད། (@kalsang_jigme) November 19, 2022

On 19th November, His Holiness the #DalaiLama was awarded the Gandhi-Mandela Award by the #Gandhi-Mandela Foundation based in New Delhi, India. pic.twitter.com/MOGL4Z3NOf

— RFATibetan (@rfatibet) November 19, 2022

The Dalai Lama thanked the Foundation for the award and expressed his best wishes. He emphasized on kindness, unity and non-violence in the world. He said, “Today we have gathered here for the Gandhi Mandela Award and I am honoured to receive this award. We have gathered here as human beings which means we have to have the oneness of humanity which is very important to this world. In the past people have fought with each other with the idea of dividing us which is outdated today. Non-violence and compassion are thousands of years of principles of this world which are relevant today also. So if one country is suffering from war not only it is suffering but all are sufferers of it. So we have gathered here with the idea of friendship and the friendship should be brought through our love and compassion. Even the climatic disturbance like Global Warming tells us that we all are one and we must not try to divide ourselves with different ideologies. So with these thousands years of India’s tradition of Sympathy and Non-violence we can create a peaceful world together. We must try to propagate these traditions and peace in the world must come from peace within. Compassion is the foundation of peace and harmony in the world. We know that Mahatma Gandhi ji spread the message of non-violence and peace. Today we must also try to propagate compassion from which non-violence comes. Peace must come from within and must be spread at large.”

Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar in his speech said, “It is a very auspicious moment of my life to be present on the same dias as His Holiness Dalai Lama. Gandhi Mandela Foundation is working on a great path as it is the need to spread peace in the whole world. There can’t be another deserving winner for this peace award. It is the honourable privilege of His Holiness that this particular presentation has to come to his feet. It is high privilege and it is our honour. The way over the years the culture of this country has been flowing and this culture has given so much to the world. It has always been honoured and appreciated by the world leaders. Before coming here today, I had the privilege of sitting with his holiness and he explained me two principles which are very much needed for the cultivation of good ethos in this world and those two things were non-violence and sympathy.”

GMF Secretary Mr Nandan Jha said, “On behalf of Gandhi Mandela Foundation, I feel extremely privileged to say that this historic day has finally come. Since Gandhi Mandela Foundation began in 2018 with a motive to promote Peace, Individual Freedom and civil liberties all across the world. The principles through which Gandhi ji moved forward and Nelson Mandela became one of the biggest leaders in the world, the big question was that who would be such a person felicitating whom we will find a glimpse of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela in him. To select a winner, we need to keep an eye on the jury that nobody can question about their integrity and their selection process. Walking on this path, GMF and the team designed a jury which has never been done before. A jury consisting of one of the longest reigning Chief Justice of India and other esteemed Supreme Court Chief Justices and Chief Justices from Nepal and Bangladesh. After two years of deep research, we finally found the next Mahatma Gandhi. You can understand how difficult it would be. What a day it is! His Holiness could never met Gandhi ji but he was a dear friend of Nelson Mandela. During the recent ties, if there is one person who is known as the biggest ambassador of peace it is His Holiness. We will and our special jury are witness to a history which is being written today.”

Jury Chairman Justice KG Balakrishnan said that it is a very distinguished moment as we all have gathered here to felicitate His Holiness Dalai Lama and his life has been full of compassion and harmony. He added, “Today we are here to honour the great Dalai Lama ji. His life is an inspiration to all of us. We have been blessed enough to be a part of an occasion like this where His Holiness is the award recipient. He is a true heir of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela and has carried forward their principles very beautifully”. 

Jury Vice-Chairman Justice Gyan Sudha Misra hailed the occasion as a special one. She emphasized on th importance of the teachings of Dalai Lama. She said, “On this momentous occasion, we are witnessing one of the great human beings of the near past His Holiness Dalai Lama Ji. A man of this stature who has done so much for the world peace and integrity deserves no less. His holiness has been on a mission of his own- to successfully transform the lives of millions. It is so heartening to see that he is very aware of the problems disturbing the world and whenever I see him I get to know a new enthusiast within him. This child like approach makes him so great. If there is one man who deserves to be called the winner of Gandhi Mandela Award it's him.”

Hon’ble President of Gandhi Mandela Foundation Shyam Jaju in his speech said, “It is truly an honour to be part of such a prestigious occasion where His Holiness Dalai Lama is the first worthy winner of the Gandhi Mandela Award. His holiness life is an inspiration for millions and he has been the one man who has proved to the world that peace and harmony are the greatest weapon. Gandhi ji and Mandela ji were two epic pillars of non-violence and integrity and His holiness Dalai Lama is a true disciple.”

About Gandhi Mandela Foundation

The Gandhi Mandela Foundation a Govt. of India registered trust which promotes individual freedom, civil liberties, and human rights across the globe. The headquarter is situated at New Delhi and Global presence include America, Africa, Russia, London, Switzerland, China, Nepal, Bangladesh. The Foundation instituted the Gandhi Mandela Awards during the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji to celebrate those who have carried forward that the legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. The Chairman of the Foundation is India’s hindu spiritual leader Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj (President of Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, a Board Member of World Council of Religious Leaders). Patron Swami Ram Dev. The Jury committee includes former Chief justices of three countries (India, Nepal & Bangladesh).