Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) has become the strongest symbol of non-violence in the 20th century. It is a widely held belief that the Indian national leader was the epitome to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. He was nominated five times in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, and 1948 (few days before his assassination), but was never awarded the prize.

At that point in its history, the Nobel Committee had never awarded a prize posthumously, though its original governing charter did allow for this in extenuating circumstances. However, the committee determined that Gandhi had left behind no suitable heirs or organizations able to accept the award or its prize money, yet they recognized Gandhi’s lifelong commitment to non-violence, so in 1948 they instead decided not to award that year’s peace prize to anyone, stating that there were no “suitable living candidates” worthy of the award.

The Gandhi controversy endures because in 1961, the Secretary-General of the United Nations was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize even though he had died in a plane crash earlier that year. When the Dalai Lama was awarded the peace prize in 1989, he announced that he was accepting the award as a tribute to Gandhi. Some Nobel Peace Prize Laureates who were inspired by Gandhi were Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr, Al Gore, Barack Obama, and Albert Einstein (his quote): "Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood."

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