Life & Teaching of Mahatma Gandhi
FEATURED RESEARCH PAPER, 26 May 2025
Sayed Mahbub Hasan Amir | Academia - TRANSCEND Media Service
Abstract
Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948), a preeminent leader of India’s independence movement, revolutionized global resistance through his philosophy of nonviolence (ahimsa) and truth-force (satyagraha). Educated as a lawyer in London, Gandhi’s activism began in South Africa (1893–1914), where he confronted racial apartheid, refining strategies of civil disobedience and moral resistance.
Returning to India, he mobilized millions against British colonialism through landmark campaigns like the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–1922), the Salt March (1930), and Quit India (1942), uniting diverse communities under principles of unity and self-reliance (swadeshi). Central to his teachings was the belief that political freedom must align with social justice; he championed the eradication of caste discrimination, women’s empowerment, and rural economic revival through khadi (handspun cloth).
Gandhi’s ethics, rooted in Hindu, Jain, and Christian thought, emphasized simplicity, dialogue, and self-sacrifice as tools for societal transformation. However, his legacy is nuanced, marked by critiques of his early racial views in South Africa, ambiguous stance on caste hierarchies, and controversial personal practices. Despite these complexities, his influence endures globally, inspiring leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and movements for climate justice and racial equity.
This study explores Gandhi’s paradoxical journey—from a colonial subject to a global icon—arguing that his enduring relevance lies in his vision of ethical resistance. In an era of polarization, Gandhi’s call to “be the change” challenges humanity to confront injustice through compassion, proving that nonviolence remains a potent force for equity and reconciliation.
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Tags: Ahimsa, Biography, British empire, Civil Resistance, Gandhi, Independence, India, Life, Literature, Nonviolence, Nonviolent Action, Nonviolent Peaceforce, Resistance, Satyagraha, South Africa
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3 Responses to “Life & Teaching of Mahatma Gandhi”
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Comments in Response to Life & Teaching of Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi, Nonviolence and Peace
For Eradication of Corruption, Crime and Violence
By Surya Nath Prasad, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service
https://www.transcend.org/tms/2014/10/gandhi-nonviolence-and-peace/
Nonviolence: More Fundamental than Disarmament
NONVIOLENCE
Surya Nath Prasad, Ph. D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 8 Aug 2016
https://www.transcend.org/tms/2016/08/nonviolence-more-fundamental-than-disarmament/
Universal Peace Education: A Remedy for All Ills
Surya Nath Prasad, Ph.D.
L’Harmattan, Paris, France, May 2024
http://www.editions-harmattan.fr/livre-universal-peace-education-a-remedy-for-all-ills-surya-nath-prasad-9782140488580–80186.html
Dear Professor Amiri.
Greetings of Peace and harmony from Durban, South Africa. Thank you for having your paper tilted “Life & Teaching of Mahatma Gandhi” published in Transcend Media Journal for the week 02nd -08th June 2025. I also reviewed the full paper in.
https://www.academia.edu/2315588/Life_and_teaching_of_Mahatma_Gandhi
I commend and congratulate you on your paper, revisiting the Mahatma after 77 long years, while his philosophies and teachings still resonate globally, in these troubled times, nearing towards WWIII since Israel has attacked Iran today, with the full support of Trump administration.
I have subsequently, written a full paper as response to your publication, which will probably be published in TMS journal, next week. I will be most grateful if you can please read my publication, as well as previous articles on Gandhijee, as a third-generation person of Indian origins from Surat, India and having first-hand experience of Barrister Gandhi in Durban South Africa, of my parents and grandparents, as Muslims. I have shared the seminal interactions of the Mahatma while he was here in Sout Africa and upon his return to India to spearhead the resistance against the imperialistic, British Colonialism and oppression in India, leading to Independence. Upon reading my publication, I will be grateful for your further discussions on my response to your said paper.
Thank you
Kind regards
Hoosen Vawda
Global: +27 82 291 4546
e-mail: vawda@ukzn.ac.za
Friday, 13th June 2025, 1622 SAST
Dear Professor Hoosen Vawda,
Greetings of peace and solidarity from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Thank you so much for your kind words and thoughtful reflections on my paper, “Life & Teaching of Mahatma Gandhi”, published in the Transcend Media Service (TMS) Journal (02–08 June 2025). I truly appreciate your time in reviewing the full article via Academia.edu and sharing your insights.
It is deeply meaningful to hear from someone with such a rich personal and ancestral connection to Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy—particularly from the land where much of his early activism and moral transformation took root. Your reflections, grounded in generational experience and historical proximity, bring invaluable depth to the global dialogue on Gandhiji’s relevance today.
I am very much looking forward to reading your upcoming response paper in TMS. Please do share the link once it is published. I will also explore your earlier articles on Gandhiji to better understand your unique perspective shaped by your heritage, faith, and lived experience in Durban.
At this turbulent juncture in world history, revisiting Gandhian principles is not just timely but urgent. I would be honored to engage in further discussion following my reading of your response.
With warm regards and deep respect,