About the Centre

The Centre was registered as a charity in 2008 to promote Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings of non-violence. Our honorary patrons are the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba and the Right Honourable Edward Schreyer, former Governor General of Canada.

Our founder was the late Dr. Krishnamurti Dakshinamurti. Today the Centre is led by President Sudhir Kumar and works closely with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the University of Manitoba.

The Centre started the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award in 2010. It goes to someone who has worked to resolve conflict by peaceful means, and who has spoken up for people who are not heard.

The first recipient was Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, the Palestinian-Canadian doctor known as the “Gaza Doctor”, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. Since then the award has gone to judges, members of parliament, journalists, a singer and humanitarian workers, from Canada and abroad.

The award is presented at our gala dinner in Winnipeg each spring, at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

We added the Global Peace Award in 2023 for people outside Canada whose work for peace and human rights deserves recognition here.

The first award went to Hon. Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine, at our gala on October 11, 2023 at the RBC Convention Centre, for her work protecting the most vulnerable people in her country during the war.

Each year we invite students to write an essay on one of Gandhi’s principles. Winners receive a certificate and a $1,000 scholarship, presented at the gala.

Topics, who can enter, and deadlines are posted under News each year. Teachers and students are also welcome to email us with questions.

Mahatma Gandhi Scholarship in Human Rights

A graduate scholarship at the University of Manitoba and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights for students working in human rights, made possible by a gift from Dr. Krishnamurti and Dr. Ganga Dakshinamurti.

A program on conflict resolution, media literacy and civic action. Launching October 2, 2026.

A half-day workshop, or three 75-minute sessions, that teaches teams and leadership groups to resolve conflict without force or silence, verify information before acting on it, and fix what they can without waiting for permission.

Gandhi is the anchor case study because his campaigns are the most thoroughly documented example of nonviolent civic action in modern history. Every lesson is built so that it does not promote any religion, nation, political party or current government, and Indigenous and Canadian examples are treated as equal case studies, not footnotes.

Facilitation and delivery

• Delivered by Centre-trained facilitators, with a facilitator guide and slide deck.
• No religious, national or political content; the neutrality statement applies in full.
• Participant workbook: the four-step template, the three-questions card and the 30-day commitment sheet.
• Follow-up: a 45-minute check-in at day 30 for the full workshop, and a two-question pulse survey before and after.

Why these three

Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times and never received it. The most famous line attributed to him is one he never said. He spent more than six years in prison and used the time to read, write and answer letters from ordinary people. At 61 he walked 390 kilometres to the sea to make salt.

Recognition is not the measure of a life; impact is. Verify before you share. Treat attention as a discipline. Fight the injustice, never the human being.

Each of the three commitments is one of those lessons, cut down to something you can do this month.

We run a small lending library of books about Gandhi, non-violence, human rights, peace, and Indian history and culture. Anyone in the community can borrow.

You can search the catalogue below. To borrow a book or join, email the Centre.

Other ways to give

What volunteers do

Nobody at the Centre is paid. The gala, the October 2nd ceremony and the student scholarships all happen because people give their time.

Volunteers help plan the gala, greet guests and check tickets at the door, organize the Peace Walk, read student essays, look after our social media, take photos at events, and sit on committees and the board.

You do not need experience, and students are welcome. If you need your hours confirmed for school or work, we can do that.