Gandhi Tour in Progress Cited by Times of India

Times of India caught up with the Gandhi Tour legacy travelers as they toured parts of Gujarat, visiting institutions that were set up by the Mahatma or were inspired by his philosophy, during the annual pilgrimage.

AHMEDABAD JAN 5, 2015: Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Arun Gandhi, 80, and his son Tushar, 54, visited Sabarmati Ashram on Sunday. The two were leading the annual Gandhi Tour that Arun and his group of select students from University of Rochester’s MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, have been undertaking for the past 16 years. Arun is the son of Manilal Gandhi, Mahatma’s second son.

Speaking to Times of India about the Gandhi Tour visit to Gujarat, Arun Gandhi said that he did not have plans to stay over for the upcoming Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations – the day that marks the 100th year of Mahatma’s return to India. 

On the issue of cleanliness, Arun Gandhi said, “Cleanliness campaigns should go beyond important people picking up brooms for photo opportunities. True cleanliness can be achieved if we are able to lift people out of poverty by providing them an opportunity for a stable income.”

When asked about the recent controversy over religion conversion, Arun Gandhi said, “The root cause of these tensions is passive violence. Exploiting people, discriminating against them, creating disparities in society, all these are forms of violence. It’s this kind of passive violence that generates anger in the victim, and the victim takes to extreme forms of physical violence to get justice. I see the absence of mutual respect for one another, the single biggest cause for all these ills.”

Earlier this year, Arun Gandhi published his ninth book – a book for children called, ‘Grandfather Gandhi’, that reflects on his relationship with the Mahatma and the lessons he learnt from his grandfather. Arun lived with his grandfather, for two years, when he was 12 years old.

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About Gandhi Legacy Tours
The Gandhi Legacy Tours are unusual in that they do not focus on places of tourist interest but places of human interest. The tours are designed to educate participants in the essence of Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence, and how individuals can apply it in their own lives to bring about socio-economic change. For the past 16 years Arun Gandhi has brought his grandfather’s philosophy of nonviolence to westerners. The focus is on studying institutions that apply the philosophy of nonviolence in their attempt to transform communities, in both urban and rural areas. Gandhi believed in creating a “Sarvodaya” society – a society where everyone would enjoy a reasonable standard of living with attendant rights and privileges, and the Tours demonstrate that humble “change-makers” are “being the change”, and making it a reality.