Why in the News
The 2026 Ramon Magsaysay Awards have been announced for a Singaporean lawyer and diplomat, a Myanmar democracy activist and a Bangladeshi development worker. The award is administered from Manila and is commonly described as Asia’s Nobel Prize. The exam value of the announcement sits in the award’s origin and administering body and in the identity of its laureates rather than in the announcement itself.
About the Ramon Magsaysay Award
- Instituted in 1957: It was created in memory of Ramon Magsaysay, the third President of the Philippines, who died in an aircraft crash that year.
- Founding body: The trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund established the award with the agreement of the Philippine government.
- Administering body: The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, based in Manila, selects and confers the awards each year.
- Scope: It honours individuals and organisations of Asian origin for greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia.
- Presentation date: The awards are conferred around 31 August, the birth anniversary of Ramon Magsaysay.
- Categories were discontinued: The five original categories, including Government Service and Community Leadership, were set aside in 2009, and the Emergent Leadership category added in 2001 continued alongside awards given without a fixed category.
Who are the 2026 laureates?
- Tommy Koh, Singapore: The 88 year old lawyer and diplomat was recognised for promoting international dialogue and the rule of law. He presided over the United Nations conference of more than 150 countries that adopted the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982, described by the awards body as a “constitution for the oceans” that defined territorial waters and coastal economic rights.
- Bo Kyi, Myanmar: The 61 year old activist spent seven years in prison and was recognised for a life spent in resistance to human rights violations by Myanmar’s military. He organised the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in March 2000 with fellow former political prisoners, which documents political imprisonment and supports detainees and their families.
- Runa Khan, Bangladesh: The 67 year old was recognised for her empathy for the poorest in her country, having first taught poor children in 1979. She established Friendship Bangladesh in 2002, which works on climate change adaptation, education, women’s empowerment, livelihoods and social justice for excluded groups.
Which Indians have received the award?
- The first Indian recipient: Vinoba Bhave received the award in 1958 for Community Leadership.
- Early Indian laureates: Mother Teresa in 1962, Verghese Kurien in 1963, Jayaprakash Narayan in 1965, Satyajit Ray in 1967 and M.S. Subbulakshmi in 1974 are among them.
- Later Indian laureates: Kiran Bedi in 1994, Arvind Kejriwal in 2006, T.M. Krishna and Bezwada Wilson in 2016, Sonam Wangchuk in 2018 and Ravish Kumar in 2019 have received it.
- India’s standing: India has more recipients of the award than any country other than the Philippines itself.
Conclusion
The 2026 laureates have been announced and the awards are conferred at a ceremony in Manila. The next milestone is that ceremony, and the testable content of this item is the award’s origin, its administering foundation and the identity and work of its laureates.
[2025] Who amongst the following are members of the Jury to select the recipient of ‘Gandhi Peace Prize’?
I. The President of India
II. The Prime Minister of India
III. The Chief Justice of India
IV. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) II and IV only
(b) I, II and III
(c) II, III and IV
(d) I and III only