NOBEL OR NO NOBEL?

By Dilip Chakrabarti (New Jersey)

In1998 Dr. Amartya Sen, the renowned Professor of Economics was awarded a prize during the ceremony of Nobel Prize by the Sverige’s Riksbank Prize in memory of Alfred Nobel. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is responsible for selecting the Laureates in Economic Science. We, the Indians, became very happy and proud to see that another son of our country could put his name into this elite list of these achievers.

In the wake of Dr. Amartya Sen’s receiving this award, a controversy has emerged among the Academia, Intellectuals even among the common people. Some are firmly arguing that he did not receive the Nobel Prize while others are arguing that since he received the prize during the Ceremony of Nobel Prize, it is very clear that he has received the Nobel Prize in Economic Science. To resolve this issue, I shall try to present a few facts about the Nobel Prize. Hopefully, after reading this article the readers should be able to decide whether Dr. Sen has indeed received the extremely coveted award named the “Nobel Prize”. Alfred Nobel, the founder of Nobel Prize, was a God gifted Scientist who has many inventions to his credit including Dynamite. Alfred Nobel (in full Alfred Bernhard Nobel), was born in October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden, and died on December 10, 1896, San Remo, Italy. Alfred Nobel was the fourth son of Immanuel and Caroline Nobel. Immanuel was an inventor and engineer who had married Karolina Andriette Nobel (nee Ahlsell) in 1827. The couple had eight children, of whom only Alfred and three of his brothers reached adulthood. Immanuel’s family moved to St. Peterburg, Russia, Alfred’s early education started in Russia. He received his education that made him a chemist, engineer, and industrialist who invented dynamite and even more powerful many other explosives. After that Alfred Nobel left Russia in 1850 to spend a year in Paris to study chemistry and then went to the United States and started to work under the supervision of John Ericsson, a famous builder of the ironclad warship Monitor. After returning to St. Petersburg, Alfred started to work in father’s factory. After many failed struggles the family moved back to Sweden leaving two of his brothers in Russia to salvage the family property whatever they could. Eventually the luck turned around and Alfred Nobel turned to become an industrialist and finally he could put a pivotal step in the society as an inventor and as a famous businessman, industrialist and a philanthropist. His fame and kindness started to shine as a lover of humanity in his country and beyond. “By 1895 Nobel had developed angina pectoris, and he died of a cerebral hemorrhage at his villa in San Remo, Italy, in 1896.” The reading of his will greatly surprised his family and friends to see that the bulk of his fortune was left in a trust to establish the most highly regarded of international awards, named the “Nobel Prize”. It is thought that 31 million Swedish Krones (around 1.8 billion $ in today’s money) was endowed for this foundation. In accordance with his will, it was decided that “Nobel Prize will be given annually in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace”. So, only five subjects were chosen for Nobel Prize by Alfred Nobel himself. However, in 1968, a Swedish Bank, named Sverige’s Riksbank, donated a substantial amount of money to create a prize of the same prestige as the “Nobel Prize”. And this prize was meant to be given in the field of “Economics Sciences” in “memory of Alfred Nobel”. Since the inception of this prize, it is given on the same day and time in the same venue where all the Nobel Prizes are presented to the winners. “The first prize in Economic Sciences was awarded (jointly) to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen in 1969. The winner(s) of the prize in Economic Sciences is selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden, according to the same principles as for the Nobel Prizes that have been awarded since 1901. Dr. Amartya Sen received this prize in 1998 in Economic Sciences which was awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden, following the same principles and standards as for the “Nobel Prize”. It will be quite relevant to mention in a few words the selection process for the winners in the original five fields of Nobel Prize and in Economic Sciences is conducted. Although the winners are announced in October and November, the process of selection usually begins in early autumn of the preceding year. The prizeawarding institutions invite more than 6000 individuals to propose or nominate candidates for the Nobel Prize or Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of “Alfred Nobel”. These nominations come from past Nobel Laureates, many prize-awarding Institutions, and recognized scholars active in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace and Economic Sciences. Normally these nominations range in number from 100 to 250. Self-nomination automatically disqualifies any nominee. These proposals must be submitted on or before January 31st of the awarding year to the Committee. The Committee then decides on the merit of their work, research etc. who will receive the Nobel Prize in relevant subject and the Economic Sciences. Maximum of three persons can jointly receive the prize in any subject. Only Nobel Peace Prize can go to any organization. In the 122-year history of Nobel Prizes, only four individuals have received the award twice. They are Frederick Sanger, Linus Pauling, John Bardeen and Marie Curie. “The Curie family received the most prizes, with four prizes awarded to five members of the family. Marie Curie received the prizes in 1903 (in Physics) and in 1911 (in Chemistry).” The only person who refused the Nobel Prize is General Le Duc Tho of Vietnam. When the Armistice was broken during the 1972 Christmas by bombing Hanoi under the order of Henry Kissinger, Le Duc Tho did not like it at all. In 1973, when the Nobel Prize was awarded to him together with Henry Kissinger, General Le Duc Tho refused to accept the prize because his corecipient, Kissinger, had violated the truce between Vietnam and USA, destroying so many lives in Hanoi. Thus, he became the only person who refused to receive a Nobel Prize. Any Indian, Bengali or not, should be proud of Dr. Amartya Sen for receiving the highest award of Economic Sciences in the world -- whether it is a “Nobel Prize” or the “Prize in memory of Alfred Nobel”. However, this award is recognized in many ways as equivalent to the “Nobel Prize” itself. All recipients are recognized and adorned as “Nobel Laureates”. The financial reward of the Economics prize is similar to the usual “Nobel Prizes”. and it has added substantial amount of money to Dr. Sen’s bank account. I believe that after the perusal of this article the reader should be able to decide whether Dr. Amartya Sen deserves to be called a “Nobel Prize” winner or not. Finally, no matter what, he is India’s pride and Bengal’s glory, who wore the “Nobel Prize” medal and proudly walked out into the world as one of the “Nobel Laureates.” References: Internet sources found through Google