April 14, 1934 Durban, South Africa –
May 2, 2023 5:04 a.m. Kolhapur, India

Posted by on May 2, 2023 in Blog | 0 comments

Very sad news to announce.

Photo of Arun Gandhi at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, India.

April 14, 1934 Durban, South Africa – May 2, 2023 5:04 a.m. Kolhapur, India

Arun Gandhi, 5th grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, son of Gandhi’s second child Manilal and Sushila Gandhi, brother to Sita and Ela, and father of Tushar Gandhi and Archana Prasad, has passed away at the age of 89. A memorial service will be held at Phoenix Settlement in Durban, South Africa today at the same time his ceremony takes place in Kolhapur India.  His son Tushar will give the last rights.

Arun Gandhi is the founder of Gandhi Legacy Tour which introduces people to the major sites Gandhi was associated with in India and South Africa. He passed away at AVANI in Kolhapur, India a location Gandhi Legacy Tour of India visits each year.  He is survived by his sister Ela, his son Tushar Gandhi, daughter Archana Prasad, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.  My heart goes out to the Gandhi family, all our friends and supporters. 

He is one of our Human Family’s Great One’s. 

Rest in Peace Appaji.  

Arun was born on April 14, 1934 at the Phoenix Settlement, in Durban, South Africa, founded by Mahatma Gandhi.  Phoenix Settlement was Gandhi’s first established ashram.  He was the second child of Manilal and Sushila Gandhi.  In 1956 Arun left South Africa to immerse his father’s ashes in India. He was unable to return to South Africa as he married an Indian citizen and South African apartheid laws would not allow his wife and children back into the country.

He worked as a journalist for the Times of India until settling in the United States in the late 1980s.  In 1991, he founded the MK Gandhi Institute of Nonviolence in Memphis, TN moving it to Rochester, NY in 2007.  In 1998, he started the Season of Nonviolence in partnership with the United Nations. He founded Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute in 2008 that supported the work of AVANI, in Kolhapur, India.   

AVANI School AVANI Photo credits: Scott Kafora