Gandhians of the 21st century

 

Nelson Mandela

 

Nelson Mandela served as the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. In his long and successful non-violent fight against apartheid and poverty in his country, he looked upon Mahatma Gandhi for inspiration and strength. He was committed to non-violent resistance and in the process spent 27 long years in prison. Upon release, he led his nation to its first ever multi-racial elections. Mahatma Gandhi might have missed the Nobel Peace Prize, but it was only befitting that a Gandhian in Mandela received the award in 1993. His reference to Gandhi as ‘the sacred warrior’ only confirms his strong belief in the Gandhian principles.

 

 

 

 

Aung San Suu Kyi

 

As the leader of the opposition in Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi has created a stir through non violent movements like no other in recent times. Despite physical and political attacks, she has followed Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence spending almost 15 years under house arrest until her recent release in 2010. An international symbol of struggle against oppression, she knows the importance and significance of a non-violent struggle. "I do not hold to non-violence for moral reasons, but for political and practical reasons," she said in 2007. The Gandhian was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

 

 

 

 

 

Jagdish Gandhi

 

With just five students and a borrowed capital of Rs. 300, Jagdish Gandhi along with wife Bharti Gandhi had started the City Montessori School in Lucknow as a part of a personal experiment. Today the school has a world record 45,000 students. Influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, the 76-year old visionary has taken many notable initiatives in promoting global unity and education in peace. It should not then come as a surprise that his creation, the City Montessori School was awarded the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 2002, the first ever school to be given this award. He had remarked about his institution, “We are happy that not only our size but also our philosophy of world peace is being recognized at a global level.”

 

 

 

Martin Luther King

 

Inspired by Mahatama Gandhi's success with non-violent movements, Martin Luther King visited Gandhi's birthplace in India in 1959. His trip to India affected him in a profound way and deepened his understanding of non-violent resistance and his commitment to America's struggle for civil rights. During his radio speech on his final day in India, Martin said, “Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation."