Sheikh Hasina chosen for Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

The award, carrying a cash prize of Rs.25 lakh and a citation, will be presented to her at a function to be held at a later date.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. File photo: AP

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been chosen for the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development this year.

The selection was made by an international jury, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust said in a statement.

Ms. Hasina was chosen for her “outstanding contribution to the promotion of democracy and pluralism, her determined drive to alleviate poverty and secure social and economic justice for her people through inclusive and sustainable development, and her consistent commitment to peace,” the statement said.

Ms. Hasina “promoted peace by resolving a long-standing insurgency [problem] in Bangladesh by concluding the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord. Her global commitment to peace was manifested by her initiative that resulted in the adoption of the first-ever resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on the Culture and Peace,” it said.

The assassination of her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, and other members of her family in 1975 transformed her life and “the political landscape of Bangladesh. A number of attempts on her life and subsequent imprisonment only strengthened her resolve to restore democracy, peace and political stability in her country,” the statement said.

The award, carrying a cash prize of Rs.25 lakh and a citation, will be presented to her at a function to be held at a later date.

Ms. Hasina is to visit India next month and is likely to sign a couple of landmark agreements that would strengthen ties between New Delhi and Dhaka.