Date:10/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/10/stories/2006091018601100.htm

National

Gandhi International Peace Prize for Shabana

Mumbai: Actress Shabana Azmi is elated at being named the recipient of this year's prestigious Gandhi International Peace Prize, which will be awarded to her at a ceremony in the British House of Commons on October 26 .

"I am very honoured at being chosen for such a prestigious award, whose previous recipients have been people like the Dalai Lama. I have also been asked to deliver this year's lecture on the significance of Gandhian values in today's strife-torn world," Ms. Azmi told PTI here.

"I think all of a sudden Gandhi and Gandhian values have become very much the fashion, with people talking about `Gandhigiri' due to the recent [Sanjay Dutt film] Lage Raho Munnabhai, and people are beginning to realise that it is leaders who preached values of non-violence who are most relevant in today's world," she said.

The award, announced four days ago, is given away by the London-based Gandhi Foundation.

PTI