Up to year 1960, the Nobel Prize was awarded almost “exclusively” to Europeans and Americans.
Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule never won the Nobel Peace Prize regardless of being nominated 5 times in 1937-1948.
Reason?
According to an article published in Noble Prize website, up to year 1960, the Prize was awarded almost “exclusively” to Europeans and Americans.
It also said, “there is no hint in the archives that the Norwegian Nobel Committee ever took into consideration the possibility of an adverse British reaction to an award to Gandhi. Thus it seems that the hypothesis that the Committee’s misunderstanding of Gandhi was due to its members’ not wanting to provoke British authorities, may be rejected.”
Nevertheless, in view of Gandhi’s work during the 1947 India-Pakistan separation and murder days after his 1948 nomination, the year’s award was respectfully left blank as Nobel is rarely given posthumously.
Because of its political nature, the Nobel Peace Prize has, for most of its history, been the subject of controversies.
