Gandhi's grandson spreads message of peace

The grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun Gandhi, challenged hundreds of Chattanooga State students on Wednesday to stop the U.S. culture of violence.

Nonviolence is more than a lack of force, he said. It includes respecting the environment and resisting discrimination and the use of hurtful words.

"We see today the growing violence, and it makes us shudder," he said during his speech at Chattanooga State Community College. "A lot of this is happening because our relationships are so poor."

Dr. Gandhi, 75, directs the Chicago-based Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, which raises money to build schools in Third World countries. He also travels the country, discussing the lessons his grandfather taught him about nonviolence and anger management.

Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1948, is the Indian spiritual and political leader who helped end British rule of India through nonviolent civil disobedience. He also worked to bring attention to the rights of women and India's lowest class, the so called "untouchables."

People should be motivated by mutual respect and acceptance, not fear, Dr. Gandhi said.

"It is important for us to understand anger," he said. "Anger is like electricity. It can be useful if we channel it, learn to channel that energy into positive action."

Dr. Gandhi's speech "is the best message in the world," said Magda Gasoma, a South African native and pharmacy student at Chattanooga State who attended the speech. "If we will follow what he says, I think we will have peace."

Chattanooga State President Jim Catanzaro said he liked Dr. Gandhi's message because it not only encouraged students to question war and stay out of physical fights, it challenged them to deal with their anger in a healthy way.

"I thought he did a masterful job," said Dr. Catanzaro.

Dr. Gandhi, who spoke to more than 400 college and high school students at Chattanooga State, has been a controversial figure in recent years.

In January 2008, he was forced to resign from a conflict resolution institute he founded, the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, after receiving harsh criticism for writing a blog that said Jews and Israel were "the biggest players" in the global culture of violence.

The blog, written for the Washington Post, said Jews rely more on weapons than diplomacy and are "locked into the holocaust experience."

"For 60 years we have been fighting a war without success (in the Middle East) ... The problem is grave," he said, briefly addressing his forced resignation. "We are going to see more and more of this happening because of (the U.S.) friendship with Israel. Eventually, we will all be consumed by their violence."