The Right Livelihood prize, dubbed the "alternative" to the Nobel Peace Prize, was awarded Monday to human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger, an Argentinian anti-nuclear activist and a Russian group documenting Soviet-era abuses.
The prize, established in 1980, was announced in the Indian city of Hyderabad instead of the usual base of Sweden to stress it focuses on the developing world.
The prize of two million Swedish kronor (268,000 dollars) will be shared among Jagger, Argentinian scientist Raul Montenegro and the Moscow-based Memorial society, said Right Livelihood founder Jakob von Uexkull, a former member of the European parliament.
Jagger, who was born in Nicaragua, has been a prominent rights activist since her eight-year marriage to Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger ended in 1979, campaigning in particular against capital punishment.
Montenegro, a biologist, has been a thorn in the side of Latin America's nuclear lobby, working through the courts and the media to highlight the alleged dangers of atomic power plants.
The Memorial Historical, Educational and Charitable Society was founded by leading Russian democrats in 1988 to document the horrors of the Gulag prisons and support the survivors of Soviet brutality and their families.
Von Uexhull said honorary Right Livelihood awards were being given to two Indians: Asghar Ali Engineer, a veteran campaigner against inter-religious violence, and Swami Agnivesh, who in 1974 wrote a treatise on "Vedic socialism" aimed at uplifting India's poor.
"These two Indian social reformers were awarded for their strong commitment and co-operation over many years to promote the values of coexistence, tolerance and understanding in India and between the countries of South Asia," he said.