The prestigious Zayed Medal for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a great honour for all Indians, around the world. He was awarded by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces in appreciation of his pivotal role in boosting bilateral and strategic ties between UAE and India. This shows that Modi is a serious, trustworthy and mature leader.

Modi is the 17th recipient of this prestigious award, The Order of Zayed, which is the UAE’s highest decoration that has been awarded to kings, presidents and other heads of state. In the past, dignitaries like Queen Elizabeth II, former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and Russian President Putin have been given this award.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

Sir - The Nobel committee's decision to honour two independent journalists is praiseworthy. This highlights the importance of press freedom and acknowledges the bravery of journalists who speak up against the ruling regimes of their respective countries.

In the 120-year history of the prize, this is only the third time that journalists have been honoured. Journalists across the world must take pride in this. There could not have been a better time to honour the work of the fraternity of journalists. This will boost the morale of those working under the most difficult circumstances.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has won the Noble peace prize for mending ties with Eritrea. The coveted award recognises the prime minister's efforts in bringing peace to his country and resolving the two-decade-old border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea. The conflict was a huge financial drain for both the countries.

Ali's vision has helped Ethiopia and Eritrea achieve historic rapprochement and his leadership has set a wonderful example for others in Africa and beyond to follow. It shows diplomacy and engagement is the best way forward, not confrontation. Abiy Ahmed has also played a significant role in bringing peace to the Horn of African region. He has also won plaudits for brokering a power-sharing deal in Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti, all these nations have had some border disputes. At 43, he is the youngest leader to win this prestigious award. He has also made peace a key agenda of his government.

This is a well-deserved honour for an extraordinary leader and statesman, who thought of larger interest for his country and the region as wars and conflicts only bring destruction and misery for both.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

Sir, Congratulations to Omani author Jokha Alharthi, for winning the prestigious Man Booker International Prize for her novel Celestial Bodies, originally published in Arabic.

It is notable that Alharthi is the first Arabic author to claim the coveted award, and also the first female writer from Oman to be translated into English.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been conferred with the 14th Seoul Peace Prize. It is a recognition to the contribution he has made to the growth of the Indian economy, improving international cooperation, transparency in his governance, and accelerating human development. Another praise-worthy initiative of his is promoting regional and global peace through a proactive foreign policy. The 'Modi Doctrine' and the 'Look East' policy have worked in India's favour. Modi has helped India improve ties with its smaller neighbours, and adopted the policy of restraint to keep peace in South Asia.

Seoul peace award was established in 1990 to commemorate the 24th Seoul Olympic Games, where 160 nations participated.

Seoul peace award committee had shortlisted over 100 names out of 1,300 nominations received globally. Modi is the 14th recipient of this prestigious award.

Some of the earlier recipients include: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Pakistan's Abdul Sattar Edhi. With Seoul peace award,

Narendra Modi has been recognised as 'a global statesman, visionary leader and a peace maker'. It is great honour for all Indians.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

Congratulations to Denis Mawakkul, a Congolese doctor who helps victims of sexual violence in Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nadia Murad, a Yazidi rights activist and survivor of sexual slavery, on winning the Nobel Peace Prize this year.

This distinguished prize is a fitting tribute to the people who have been painstakingly working to put an end to sexual violence. By acknowledging their work, the Norwegian Noble committee has highlighted the great contribution made by these two awardees in ending the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

Rapes during war time have been a crime for ages, but it has hardly been talked about on global platforms. This well-deserved honour to the two awardees will encourage more people to do such noble human acts.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

I welcome the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision to award the peace prize this year to Tunisia’s National Dialogue Quartet in recognition of its contribution to the successful transition to democracy from Arab spring 2011 revolution.

The Quartet consists of alliance of the society civil group, labor union, confederation of industry, human rights activists that steered Tunisia to the path of democracy and prevented it from descending into civil war.

Tunisia has indeed been a lesson for the world as how to resolve conflict and preserve democracy. In this respect awarding the peace prize to the Quartet has been a matter of great joy and pride not only for Tunisia but for the whole Arab world.

This Quartet was formed in 2013 when Tunisia faced significant political, economic and security changes, democratization process was about to collapse and the country was on the brink of a civil war.

This peace award is an inspiration meant to encourage more such works in conflict zones and to promote peace, a lesson how to resolve conflicts in peaceful manners.

The dialogue group is not particularly famous and little noticed outside Tunisia, but Nobel is often awarded to lesser-known groups, to draw attention to their work for bringing peace and stability. In today’s world, in conflict zones we need more such civil society groups.

And it proves that dialogue is the only way to solve conflicts not weapons.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

Congratulations to Tawakkul Karman for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Through your esteemed newspaper, I, on behalf of my Indian brothers and sisters wish to congratulate our sister Tawakkul Karman for co-winning the Nobel Peace Prize along with two other African candidates.

While awarding the most prestigious prize to three indomitable campaigners against war and oppression, Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland has rightly said, “We can’t achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men”. With this award the world has recognised that women’s rights are vital for world peace.

Even before the Arab spring, Tawakkul had played a great role in the struggle for women’s right and democracy. This great award is not only an honour for her but for all Arab women and all women of world.

Dear Sir, The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded this year’s Peace Prize to Tunisia’s National Dialogue Quartet for helping build democracy in the North African country after the Arab Spring revolution in 2011.

The quartet consists of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH), and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.

The quartet’s work sets an example to the world on resolving conflicts and preserving democracy. It was formed in 2013 when Tunisia faced significant political, economic and security challenges and its democratisation process was about to collapse. This prize is a great joy and pride not only for Tunisia but for the entire Arab world .

The quartet is not particularly famous outside Tunisia, but the Nobel Committee often picks lesser-known groups for the Peace Prize to promote and draw attention to their work for bringing peace and stability to conflict zones in our world.

Sir — This refers to the editorial, "Only half a Nobel gesture" (October 10). The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in recognition of his resolute efforts to end a 50-year old civil war with rebel fighters, is welcome.

The award is a fitting tribute to those who have painstakingly contributed to being significantly close to achieving a lasting peaceful solution to the longest civil war in modern history. This conflict has claimed more than 2,60,000 lives; over 45,000 people disappeared in five decades of conflict with Leftist guerrillas groups and drug gangs.

We hope this award will help the Colombian President and his team maintain the momentum needed to take forward the peace process, which will ultimately bring a lasting peaceful solution to this extremely complex conflict.

I welcome Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee's decision to give this year's award to Colombian President Juan Manual Santos in recognition of his resolute efforts to end 52-year-old civil war with Marxist guerrillas.

This distinguished prize is a fitting tribute to those who have painstakingly contributed to achieve lasting peaceful solution to the longest civil war of the modern history. This conflict has claimed more than 260,000 lives while 45,000 disappeared over five decades of conflict with leftist guerrilla groups and drug gangs.

We hope that this award will help the president and his team to maintain the momentum needed to keep the peace process going forward which will ultimately bring a lasting peaceful solution to this complex conflict to end.

President Santos has rightly said that he was deeply honored and accepted this prize on behalf of the Colombian people and, in particular, the victims of the decades-long conflict. This prize also gives dignity to people of the war-torn nation which has put great faith in continuing the dialogue process, which is the only way to solve conflicts.

In fact, this year's Nobel Peace Prize is a testimony to the patience required to bring decades-old complex conflicts to an end. It is a well-deserved honor which will encourage more such works in conflict zones and promote peace in places like Syria.

I agree with the contents of letter written by Abid Saleem "White Helmets deserved Nobel."

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded this year Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve peace with the Marxists group and drug traders in the decades-old civil war. Unfortunately, Colombian civil war hardly drew any global attention.

It has never been easy to get this prestigious prize. In fact, if we go back to history of Nobel Peace Prize, we see that Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest non-violent practitioner who was nominated five times for Nobel Peace Prize but never awarded with this prestigious award.

But The White Helmets group deserves Nobel Peace Prize, which is doing great service to humanity by risking their lives to save others. These volunteers wake up every day to save other's lives. These are ordinary Syrians like tailors, bakers, teachers and others who have come together to save human lives from the rubbles. Wearing distinctive uniforms, these volunteers are a real hope for the war-torn nation.

In Syria, where public services like hospitals and ambulances are non-existent, these angels leave their families behind and risk their lives to pull people out of the rubbles. They help anyone in need regardless of his/her religion or caste. These volunteers have saved more than 60,000 lives.

Hence, Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 should be given to The White Helmets for their heroic rescue works. It will certainly inspire people in other conflict zones to follow them.

On behalf of the readers of Khaleej Times, I would like to congratulate Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, a Pakistani journalist, documentarian and woman of extraordinary talent for winning the prestigious Oscar award. She very well deserves this accolade. The documentary film ‘Saving face’ touches a human chord where she has highlighted the heinous crime of acid attacks on women and brings to the fore the trauma of these disfigured women.

This Oscar award also recognises the plight of victims of such barbaric acid attacks who suffer endlessly. Such attacks are still prevailing not only in Pakistan but in India as well. This documentary film has very rightly pointed out where the actual remedy lies.

Acid attacks are a very serious issue and are a despicable form of assault on the rights of human beings. Statistics show that most victims are women, as acid is thrown targeting the face which causes a very catastrophic effect on the victim. Due to exorbitant cost of medical treatment possible at only advanced hospitals, the victim has to face great social trauma. I feel that even capital punishment is less for such a heinous crime but at least life imprisonment should be made mandatory for this. Controlling such crime requires more than stringent laws. The intelligentsia need to play a proactive role in helping the victim and media need to highlight such cases more aggressively.

Congratulations to Subhash Chandra, the founder of Zee Group, for being conferred with the prestigious 2011 International Emmy Directorate award. He is a Pure visionary and the guiding spirit of IV median India. It was his Herculean efforts that Promoted TV revolution in India. In early 90s, he was the one who Kok a risk and started the country's first private owned TV channels: Zee TV and Zee News. Many of today's established news anchors, such as Nidhi Kulpati and Anubha Bhonsle, had started their career with Zee News. Chandra's music programme Sa Re Ga Ma is still one of the most popular programmes in its category and has given platform to many a talented singer.

It is a great honor that an Indian personality has been given such a prestigious award. It is not just Chandra but the Indian TV media, too, which has been honored.

Awarding the Man Booker Prize to Aravind Adiga for his book The White Tiger is a great honour to the author and to India as a whole. He has brought out the dark side of rural India, the gigantic divide between the haves and the have-nots and communal and caste lines in the country. The prize will motivate young Indian authors since Adiga is a first-time novelist and the fourth Indian (V.S. Naipaul was born in Trinidad) to win this prestigious award after Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai.

Congratulations to the team of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (it rained Oscar for India). The Indian film industry achieved a milstone with the film's success at the Oscar and showed that it is at par with the best in the world. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE depicts the real India with its slums and poverty but is is also hearting story of hope.Its pacy narrative is compelling and its scores is even better.The Indian film industry and many more honours follow. A.R.Rahman, Gulzar and Resul Pookutty have made India proud, while one hopes that Oscar recognition will inspire the Indian film industry and many more honours follow. SLUMDOG could also help create awareness of the need to alleviate poverty and human explorations.

Sir, Congratulations to Omani author Jokha Alharthi, for winning the prestigious Man Booker International Prize for her novel Celestial Bodies, originally published in Arabic.

It is notable that Alharthi is the first Arabic author to claim the coveted award, and also the first female writer from Oman to be translated into English.

Ramesh G jethwani, is an Avid reader, Veteran prolific writer, commentator and historian, who writes on the subjects of importance in prominent National and international newspapers for decades.
His website.www: rameshjethwani.com.

Congratulations to Geetanjali Shri, a Hindi novelist who has made a history by becoming the first Indian writer to win one of the most prestigious global literary award "International Booker Prize", for her book ‘Tomb of Sand’, it is also the first ever Hindi work to win the International Booker Prize, Originally published in Hindi as Ret Samadhi, Tomb of Sand has been translated into English by Daisy Rockwell.

It has become the first book in any Indian language to win the prestigious International Booker Prize, "Tomb of Sand" originally published in Hindi as "Ret Samadhi", which was translated into English" by an American Translator Daisy Rockwell, Tomb of Sand has also become the first ever any Indian-language novel shortlisted for the coveted International Booker Prize and subsequently won the this prestigious prize. This prestigious prize is awarded for the best translated work of fictions across the world.

This award winning book, The Tomb of Sand is a vibrant novel which was originally in Hindi called "Ret Smbadhi", it is a story set in of the partition era, which narrates a family saga of a 80 years octogenarian widow from North India and her ordeal after husband's death, who slips into depression and insists on travelling to Pakistan to confront the unresolved trauma of her teenage experience, that she left behind during the partition.

Geetangali Shree beside being an eminent author she also is a history academic, a theatre enthusiast & who loves vintage Hindi film music, she also has to her credit three novels and several short story collections. She also has translated her work in English, French, German, Serbian and Korean. Geetangali Shree is known for choosing hard-hitting subjects for her novels like in her award winning novel "Tomb of Sand".

She has a doctorate in history who is a notable alumni of JNU, she also has written on the critical work of the famous Indian writer Premchand.

The Indian literary world has achieved a milestone which has made India proud with Geetanjali Shree winning this prestigious international literary award "International Bookers Prize".

Hopefully many more Brookers will follow for Indian writers.

Ramesh G jethwani, is an Avid reader, Veteran prolific writer, commentator and historian, who writes on the subjects of importance in prominent National and international newspapers for decades.
His website.www: rameshjethwani.com.