Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Prize in the years 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, and 1948.
"I accept it as a tribute to the man who founded the modern tradition of nonviolent action for change - Mahatma Gandhi - whose life taught and inspired me," said Dalai Lama in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in 1989.
The 2nd of October every year is observed as Gandhi Jayanti across India to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. An embodiment of peace and sacrifice, Gandhi was a stalwart in the Indian Independence Movement, who set an example with his nonviolent resistance against British rule. Also, he inspired millions of people across the world to stand up against injustice and fight for their rights.
However, it is unfortunate and quite surprising that Gandhi, worldwide regarded as the apostle of peace, never won the Nobel Peace Prize despite five nominations.
Ironically, while Gandhi never won the prize, people like Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mikhail Gorbachev, Frederik Willem de Klerk, and Dalai Lama (who followed in the footsteps of Gandhi) won the award.
The Indian nationalist was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948. While everyone thought he would receive the award posthumously, the Nobel Committee declared that it had found “no suitable living candidate” for the award that year.
A popular theory is that Gandhi was too “nationalistic” or “patriotic” to get the award. During the initial nominations, Jacob Worm-Müller (the Nobel Committee's then advisor) submitted a report stating Gandhi was "a good and noble person but he took sharp turns in his policies". He further said that Gandhi's struggle in South Africa was on behalf of the Indians only, and not of the blacks.
"One might say that it is significant that his well-known struggle in South Africa was on behalf of the Indians only, and not of the blacks whose living conditions were even worse.” - Worm-Müller.
It is noteworthy that Gandhi was considered the strongest contender for the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1947 (when India was on the verge of Independence). But he did not win it because of the massive violence that took place in India and Pakistan right after Partition.
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 omission of Gandhi was due to its members’ not wanting to provoke British authorities, may be rejected."
