Socio-Political Activist, Fifth Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi: Arun Manilal Gandhi Interview

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Arun Manilal Gandhi (born April 14, 1934) is the fifth grandson of Mohandas Gandhi through his second son Manilal. Following the footsteps of his grandfather, he is also a socio-political activist, although he eschews the ascetic lifestyle of his grandfather. In 1987, Arun Gandhi moved to the United States along with his wife, Sunanda, to work on a study at the University of Mississippi. This study examined and contrasted the sorts of prejudices that existed in India, the U.S., and South Africa. Afterward they moved to Memphis, Tennessee and founded the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence hosted by the Christian Brothers University, a Catholic academic institution. This institute was dedicated to applying the principles of nonviolence at both local and global scales. In 1996, he cofounded the Season for Nonviolence as a yearly celebration of the philosophies and lives of Mahatma Gandhi and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In fall of 2007, Gandhi co-taught a course entitled "Gandhi on Personal Leadership and Nonviolence" at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland. On November 12, 2007, Gandhi gave a lecture for the Salisbury University Center for Conflict Resolution's "One Person Can Make a Difference" Lecture Series, entitled "Nonviolence in the Age of Terrorism". In fall of 2008, Gandhi returned to Salisbury University to co-teach a course entitled "The Global Impact of Gandhi". In 2007, after the passing of his wife, the institute moved to Rochester, New York, and is currently located on the University of Rochester River Campus. Arun has given many speeches about nonviolence in many countries. During his tour to Israel, he urged the Palestinians to resist Israeli occupation peacefully to assure their freedom. In August 2004, Gandhi proposed to the Palestinian Parliament a peaceful march of 50,000 refugees across the Jordan River to return to their homeland, and said MPs should lead the way. Gandhi also claimed that the fate of Palestinians is ten times worse than that of blacks in South African Apartheid. He asked: "What would happen? Maybe the Israeli army would shoot and kill several. They may kill 100. They may kill 200 men, women and children. And that would shock the world. The world will get up and say, 'What is going on?'." Gandhi later said that Yasser Arafat was receptive to the march idea, but it became a moot point after Arafat's November 2004 death.[citation needed] On January 7, 2008, while writing for the Washington Post's On Faith blog, Gandhi wrote that "Jewish identity is locked into the holocaust experience," in which Jews "overplay . . . to the point that it begins to repulse friends...Apparently, in the modern world, so determined to live by the bomb, this is an alien concept. You don't befriend anyone, you dominate them. We have created a culture of violence (Israel and the Jews are the biggest players) and that Culture of Violence is eventually going to destroy humanity". Gandhi later apologized for his remarks, saying he had been talking about all Jews when he should have been talking about Israel's policies, but he ended up resigning from his Institute on January 25, 2008. On October 12, 2009 Arun visited the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh to talk to P7's from all over Eastlothian in Scotland. On November 11, 2009 Arun visited Chattanooga State Technical Community College in Chattanooga, TN to speak and spread his message of peace. On November 13, 2009 Arun visited Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, TN to speak and spread his message of peace. On November 16, 2010 Arun visited The University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY to speak and spread his message of peace. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arun_Gandhi