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Ghandi's Grandson addresses peace in the 21st Century

Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of passive resistance pioneer Mohandas Gandhi, spoke Friday at the Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship about conflict resolution and breaching the boundaries that divide the Islamic world and America.

Gandhi is a visiting professor in South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign.

Using his grandfather's message, Gandhi touched on topics such as United Nations reforms, India, terrorism and America.

A large part of Gandhi's speech focused mainly on his grandfather's message. Mohandas Gandhi's words have reached millions around the world. He played a vital role in the freedom of India from Great Britain and inspired people including Martin Luther King, Jr.

A story of a 12-year-old Rajmohan feeling afraid as his grandfather calmly and confidently addressed angry objections to the reading of the Koran at a prayer meeting brought a first hand experience of Mohandas Gandhi. Rajmohan tried to speak of how his grandfather might perceive events unfolding in the present.

He said he believes all that separates Islam and America are the boundaries we put between each other.

"We must take seriously the climate we are building up and the legacy we are going to leave behind between America and the Islamic world. We must do all we can to remove this. Each side has a very distinct image of each other," Gandhi said.

Gandhi also warned about making a war between good and evil. He warned about building "a battleground for the moment and a distant memory later."

He said we cannot associate Islam with terrorism since most Muslims do not feel violence is the answer. He also commented on the opinion that many Muslims hate freedom.

"Terrorism has more to do with the loss of hope than the hatred of freedom. If hope deferred makes the heart sick, if hope extinguished makes the heart wild, then a heart infused with hope rejects terror," Gandhi said.

He also spoke about the high female infanticide rates in India. A recent report from United Nations Children's Fund stated up to 50 million girls and women are missing from India's population as a result of systematic gender discrimination.

Gandhi was asked to speak at the Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship after an Illinois meeting of Church Women United.

Meera Komarraju, a professor in psychology, said he made a very thoughtful and well-informed presentation.

She said it was good that he tried to make neutral observations.

William Sasso, minister at Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship, also enjoyed Gandhi's speech.

"It is really important to hear from people whose perspectives come from different cultures and who've had time to think through how Mohandas Gandhi's wisdom speaks to us today," Sasso said.

 

 

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