Manmohan Singh confers Indira Gandhi Peace Prize on British broadcaster David Attenborough

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has conferred the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize on British broadcaster David Attenborough at a virtual event on Monday, reported PTI.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who was also present during the online award function, described Attenborough as one of nature’s “most staunch conscience keepers” for over half a century.

During her speech, she said, “David is already well known to us all through his prodigious creativity in educating the humankind with brilliant films and books about the natural world. And he has, of late, been the most sensible voice warning us that we, more than anything else, are responsible for the accelerating threat to the environment on our planet.”

She added, “When environmental protection has become all the more imperative, when climate change and continued loss of bio-diversity is threatening livelihoods and public health, indeed life on earth, there could not have been a more appropriate choice for an award in her name than Sir David Attenborough.”

Attenborough, while accepting the award, said, “We have to change from being nationalists to being international.”

The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development was instituted in the memory of the former prime minister by a trust in her name in 1986. The prize consists of a monetary award of Rs 25 lakh along with a citation.

The award is given to individuals or organisations who work towards ensuring international peace and development, ensuring that scientific discoveries are used to further the scope of freedom and better humanity. 

Sonia Gandhi said Indira Gandhi despite being born in a political family saw herself developing a special affinity for nature. She said, “As prime minister, she became an unwavering champion of environmental protection long before that cause had become popular both in India and abroad. While helping India accelerate the pace of investment and expand its economic infrastructure, she was very sensitive to the imperative of maintaining what she would often call ‘ecological balance’.”

Talking about Attenborough, she said, “Age has not dimmed his zeal, neither has humanity’s willful disregard for what he says.”