His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was selected as the first recipient of Hofstra's international Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize. The $50,000 prize will be presented to His Holiness on November 18, 2008 in India by a delegation including Hofstra officials, the family of Sardar Ishar Singh Bindra, which established the prize at Hofstra, and former Indian Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, a member of the Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize Honorary Committee. The Dalai Lama has agreed to visit Hofstra in the near future.
The biennial prize was established in 2006 through an endowment from the family of Ishar Singh Bindra to be given by Hofstra University to individuals or organizations that have worked to facilitate the religious dialogue that is indispensable to reducing religious conflict. The prize was named for the founder of the Sikh religion and was meant to encourage understanding of various religions and to build bridges between faith communities.
"There are few missions as important for a university as the advancement of understanding among all peoples," said Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz. "Awarding this prize allows us to recognize those who bring together people of all faiths, which now, more than ever, is important for the peace and prosperity of our world."
T.J. Bindra, son of Ishar Bindra and a Hofstra trustee, said "We are immensely pleased with the selection. There could be no more deserving candidate than his holiness, and to me what stands out most is that Guru Nanak stood for brotherhood, peace and wonderful relations between communities, and I think His Holiness personifies that the best."
The establishment of the prize by the Bindra family followed the creation of Hofstra's Department of Religion in 2005 and the endowment of chairs in Sikh, Catholic and Jewish studies. The Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Chair in Sikh Studies, named for the family matriarch, was also established through an endowment from the Bindra family.
There were 75 individuals and groups nominated for the first prize, representing interfaith efforts in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and throughout the United States and Canada.
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