This book presents a rethinking of the world legacy of Mahatma Gandhi in this era of unspeakable global violence. Through interdisciplinary research, key Gandhian concepts are revisited by tracing their genealogies in multiple histories of world contact and by foregrounding their relevance to contemporary struggles to regain the ‘humane’ in the midst of global conflict. The relevance of Gandhian notions of ahimsa and satyagraha is assessed in the context of contemporary events, when religious fundamentalisms of various kinds are competing with the arrogance and unilateralism of imperial capital to reduce the world to a state of international lawlessness. Covering a wide and comprehensive range of topics such as Gandhi’s vegetarianism and medical practice, his successes and failures as a litigator in South Africa, his experiments with communal living and his concepts of non-violence and satyagraha. The book combines historical, philosophical, and textual readings of different aspects of the leader’s life and works. Rethinking Gandhi in a New World Order will be of interest to students and academics interested in peace and conflict studies, South Asian history, world history, postcolonial studies, and studies on Gandhi.

Papers presented at the National Seminar on Relevance of Gandhian thought and Leadership for 21st Century held at Aurangabad, during 7-9 April 1999.

The present work enquires into a largely unexplored area in social sciences, namely, the interaction of politics, symbols and culture, in both theoretical and applied perspectives. Making subtle analytical distinctions between the 'symbolist' and the 'symbolic' and between 'symbols in polities' and 'political symbols', the study reinterprets gandhian philosophy and praxis in terms of 'political symbolism. The study ably brings out how the shift in perspective--from the received western worldview to a 'rooted' point of view--might alter the fundamental categories, methodology and self-understanding of a society in its own setting and relatedness to the outer world. The book contends that Gandhi questions not only the 'bow' of the 'liberal-industrial-capitalist' combine but also the 'why' of their superimpositions on the non-west. To address the gandhian alternative is, thus, to address and confront the challenging ethos of our times in relation to both our heritage and the current options at our disposal.

Gandhian Thought and Communication: Rethinking the Mahatma in the Media Age looks at Gandhian thought and contributions from an interdisciplinary communication perspective. It explores the Mahatma as a public intellectual and communicator. It studies Gandhi’s unique communication techniques to connect with the masses and the way he used and appropriated myth, metaphors and symbols to communicate his ideas related to modernity and nationalism. The book examines how Gandhian ideas have been tested and the implications derived. This book also studies the contemporary relevance of Gandhian thought by looking at various popular media representations to open up the possibilities of rethinking and recasting Gandhi in the present context.

9/11 marked the beginning of a century that is defined by widespread violence. Every other day seems to be a furthering of the already catastrophic present towards a more disastrous tomorrow. With climate change looming over us, frequent economic instability, religious wars, and relentless political mayhem, life for what we have made of it seems more and more unsustainable. Douglas Allen insists that we look to Gandhi, if only selectively and creatively, in order to move towards a nonviolent and sustainable future. Is a Gandhi-informed swaraj technology, valuable but humanly limited, possible? What would a Gandhian world—a more egalitarian, interconnected, decentralized—of globalization look like? Focusing on key themes in Gandhi’s thinking such as violence and nonviolence, absolute truth and relative truth, ethical and spiritual living, and his critique of modernity, the book compels us to rethink our positions today.

This volume shows how Gandhi's thought and action-oriented approach are significant, relevant, and urgently needed for addressing major contemporary problems and concerns, including issues of violence and nonviolence, war and peace, religious conflict and dialogue, terrorism, ethics, civil disobedience, injustice, modernism and postmodernism, oppression and exploitation, and environmental destruction. Appropriate for general readers and Gandhi specialists, this volume will be of interest for those in philosophy, religion, political science, history, cultural studies, peace studies, and many other fields.

Contains selected texts from the writings of Mahatma Gandhi in which he expressed his philosophy of non-violence and non-violent action, and includes an introductory essay by editor Thomas Merton.

The idea of nonviolent resistance is still as essential and almost as radical today as it was when Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) first pioneered in India the protest of political tyranny—in his case against British colonialism—through massive displays of civil disobedience. Gandhi’s ideas of peaceful protest went on to inspire the marches and sit-ins of the American Civil Rights movement and continue to be the foundations for political and social demonstrations around the world. This biography by leading scholar Douglas Allen presents a new and challenging approach to understanding Gandhi’s life—the time in which he lived, how he shaped history, and how his philosophy and practices can be reformulated in ways that are significant and effective today. Allen analyzes his continuing relevance by addressing key issues of truth and ethics, violence and nonviolence, equality and freedom, as well as ideas of exploitation, oppression, religious conflict, and environmental crises. Allen provides a much needed new perspective on Gandhi that allows us to rethink our basic values and priorities. By helping us understand Gandhi’s life and message, he creates a new paradigm for evaluating truth, nonviolence, peace, and morality; and he offers new criteria for assessing our modern approach to standards of living, development, progress, and meaningful human existence.