This book traces the journey of Mahatma Gandhi, from being a simple and truth-seeking human being, a satyarthi, to a committed, conscious and social human being, a satyagrahi. It specifically looks at this critical transformation during the time Gandhi was in South Africa. The central argument of the book is that Gandhi evolved from being a satyarthi to a satyagrahi in South Africa. Subsequently in India, he consolidated his orientation with an emphasis on praxis, by developing his ideas as instruments for social and individual struggles. Marked by a series of events, this period was an intense quest of self-realization and understanding, and shows his journey from being Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to being Mahatma Gandhi. The book discusses various elements of Gandhian thought and praxis – morality, wisdom, non-violence, truth, social justice, dharma, trusteeship, education, sarvodaya, Hind Swaraj, swadeshi, and social service – and interprets the relevance of Gandhi’s thought in the modern world by highlighting its unique significance for social transformation and change. Lucid and accessible, the book will be useful to scholars and researchers of Gandhi studies, Indian political thought, modern Indian history, and political studies.

A biography of the revered Indian leader explores his early career in South Africa, the forging of his political activism, his influence, triumphs, and failures in India, and the development of his philosophy of nonviolence

This book examines the centrality of ideas such as satya (truth), ahimsa (non-violence), humility, and respect for understanding moral life in the complex milieu of human existence. It provides a comprehensive view of how Gandhian ideas have both a temporal and spatial universality significantly different from Western modern philosophy's universality claims. The chapters represent different styles of philosophy but with a common purpose, offering insights into how the global debates on religion, morality, and politics are assessed from Gandhi's point of view. Written in language accessible to general readers with an interest in Gandhian thinking, the book will appeal to academics and philosophers.

"The year 1870 marks an epoch in the history of the South. It witnessed not only the death of Robert E. Lee but the passing also of John Pendleton Kennedy, George Denison Prentice, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, and William Gilmore Simms. In literature it was not only the end of the old but the beginning of the new, for in 1870 the new movement in Southern literature may be said to have been inaugurated in the work of Irwin Russell. I have attempted elsewhere to trace briefly the chronological outlines of this literature from 1870 to the present time. In this paper, therefore, I shall discuss not the history of this literature but rather the history in this literature." -An excerpt

Few biographies capture the complex personality of Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) theologian, philosopher, activist, and statesman so successfully. Geoffrey Ashe separates myth from reality and clarifies the incredible polarities of his protagonist's life, from middle-class lawyer to non violent revolutionary, from family man to man of the world. The resulting portrait offers readers insight into a man whose example influenced the powerful and the impoverished, whose nonviolent activism impacted the national destinies of India and Pakistan, and whose teachings and techniques continue to inspire worldwide struggles for political, economic and social justice.

Mahatma Gandhi, the father of nation has a multi-dimensional personality- a politician, leader, statesman, journalist, writer, barrister, philosopher, social scientist and activist. He was born on 2nd October, 1869 during colonial period and died on 30th January, 1948 while India was independent. Between these two different perspectives of his life, he formulated and developed his political and philosophical ideas which he himself experienced in South Africa and India. Now the time has come to be reviewed/re-examined whether his political ideas and philosophy are relevant in the 21st Century, characterized by the problem of armed clashes, terrorism and the moral crisis of humanity. His ideas of Truth, Non-violence, Satyagraha, Sarvodaya etc. are to be re-examined to make these fit to be solved the present crises. His secular ideas of coexistence of all religions are more relevant than in his own time. Casteism is still a major problem in Indian politics. Can Gandhi’s concept of Harijan eradicate casteism and create a casteless society? Should Gandhian ideas of Democracy (not western type) and socialism (not Marxian type) be reviewed to solve the recent crises? The intellectuals and scholars coming from different parts of the country and the world will explore various aspects of Mahatma Gandhi's political and philosophical ideas for the question of humanity and morality which lack the present society and politics. The Book has important features and knowledge about Gandhian ideas and knowledge.

When asked about his message to the world, the Mahatma famously said, ‘My life is my message.’ In him there was no room for contradiction between thought and action. His life in its totality is a series of experiments to convert dharma, moral principles, into karma, practices in action. Gandhi believed that development is a dialectical process stemming from the antinomy of two aspects latent within every individual—the brute and the divine. While the former represents instinct-driven behaviour, the latter is one’s true self, which is altruistic. Gandhi described this process in different fields, most of which are relevant even today. Gandhi’s Dharma is an overview of Mahatma Gandhi—his person, philosophy, and practices. The author asserts that the basic principles governing Gandhi’s thoughts—satya, ahimsa, and sarvodaya—are not relics of the past. Nor are his thoughts an obsolete list of rules. Gandhi’s ideas are dynamic principles perpetually in the making, perfectly adaptable to contemporary life.

Places the work of Johan Galtung in the context of past and current debates in international relations, political theory, and more generally, in the social sciences. This comprehensive and critical account scrutinises Galtung's conceptual icons, such as, positive peace and structural violence.