Twitter hits back at Sri Sri for comments on Malala, Nobel Peace prize

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s comments over rejecting the Nobel Peace Prize and dismissing Malala Yousafzai as a “16-year-old girl who did nothing” got him a lot of hits on Twitter.

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s comments over rejecting the Nobel Peace Prize and dismissing Malala Yousafzai as a “16-year-old girl who did nothing” got him a lot of hits on Twitter, but the nasty kind.

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar receives the Padma Vibhushan from President Pranab Mukherjee. He was awarded this March. Sri Sri has landed in another controversy for his remarks at a press conference in Maharashtra where he alleged the Nobel peace prize had become a political prize with no value for social work. (PTI Photo)

The Art of Living founder became unpopular among Twitter users who took on Sri Sri for being “jealous” of Yousafzai who advocates for girls’ education. Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the prize in 2014, aged 17.

While visiting drought-hit Latur in Maharashtra on Saturday, Sri Sri said, “Nowadays, there is no value to the Nobel Prize. When you award it to a 16-year-old girl who hasn’t done anything, what value is left? It has become a political prize.”

From questioning his credentials and bank account digits, people took pot shots at Sri Sri’s name, his spiritual teachings and claim of having rejected the Nobel Peace Prize earlier, and his intention to reject in the future as well.