{"id":153414,"date":"2020-02-10T12:00:28","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T12:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=153414"},"modified":"2020-02-07T09:51:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T09:51:00","slug":"gandhi-the-first-peace-journalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/02\/gandhi-the-first-peace-journalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Gandhi: The First Peace Journalist"},"content":{"rendered":"

6 Feb 2020 – <\/em>When asked to describe Mahatma Gandhi, most would say he was an Indian independence leader, human rights defender, and spiritual guide. However, \u201cPeople don\u2019t think of him as a journalist\u201d even though \u201che was a journalist from an early age, and died as a journalist.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is according to professor, historian, and author Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. Professor Gandhi was the featured speaker at a program titled \u201cGandhi: The First Peace Journalist,\u201d held at Park University on Aug. 26.<\/p>\n

The evening began with a presentation by Gandhi documentarian Cynthia Lukas about Gandhi\u2019s background as a journalist. Gandhi was a prolific journalist and editor who was well-known in India for his articles stressing social justice in such publications as Indian Opinion, Young India, and Navajivan (A New Life). Lukas said his writing avoided inflammatory, \u201cpoisonous journalism\u201d (as Gandhi termed it). Instead, Mahatma Gandhi emphasized civility and politeness in his articles, striving always to \u201cstep into the shoes of our opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Gandhi agreed, adding that it is \u201ccertainly correct to describe Gandhi as a journalist.\u201d His grandson said Gandhi was a staunch defender of the free press who nonetheless understood the need to avoid inflammatory rhetoric, to \u201cput a curb on his own pen.\u201d<\/p>\n

My presentation followed, and supported the premise that Gandhi was indeed a peace journalist. I listed several characteristics shared by Gandhian and peace journalism. These include rejecting \u201cus vs. them\u201d narratives; journalism as public service; media as a tool to de-escalate conflicts; using journalism as a means to foster reconciliation; carefully choosing one\u2019s words to avoid sensationalism; giving a voice to the voiceless; and emphasizing facts and truth.<\/p>\n

Regarding language, I shared a quote with the audience. Writing about the \u201cIndian Opinion\u201d journal, Gandhi said, \u201cI cannot recall a word in those articles set down without thought or deliberation, or a word of conscious exaggeration, or anything merely to please\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The truth, and facts, had no more strident champion than Gandhi. I presented this telling quote from 1926: \u201cThe way to peace is the way of truth. Truthfulness is even more important than peacefulness. Indeed, lying is the mother of violence. The truth of a few will count; the untruth of millions will vanish even like chaff before a whiff of wind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Gandhi agreed with my assessment that Mahatma Gandhi was indeed a peace journalist. He cited an incident where the Mahatma called out those who had labeled an opponent a snake. \u201cTo liken someone to a snake\u2026is a degrading performance,\u201d the professor quoted his grandfather.<\/p>\n

The final speaker was Park professor Abhijit Mazumdar, who discussed inflammatory and often hate-filled speech in South Asian media. He cited examples from social media, including hash tags like #HatePakLovers, as well as inflammatory name-calling on Indian TV like \u201cshrieking raccoon\u201d and venomous snake.\u201d In addition, he noted many examples of false news that have been reported by Indian television. Professor Gandhi added that Indian media often spread \u201ctoxicity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event was sponsored by Park University\u2019s Center for Global Peace Journalism, which also arranged Prof. Gandhi\u2019s appearances in several Park University classes.<\/p>\n

The students were thrilled. \u201cA once in a lifetime opportunity\u2026A class I\u2019ll never forget\u2026Inspiring\u2026\u201d were among the avalanche of positive comments from Park University students who met and were inspired by Prof. Gandhi.<\/p>\n

In peace journalism class, Prof. Gandhi addressed the shortcomings of media, but left the students hopeful that media can become more responsible. He said he was impressed by the work that many U.S. journalists do, and the \u201ccommitment and quality of social journalists.\u201d Prof. Gandhi said he was depressed because of a \u201clack of substance,\u201d media bias, and the media\u2019s desire to \u201ckeep viewers glued to the screen\u201d through sensationalism. He was critical of Fox News\u2019 \u201cunfortunate bias\u201d that supports the \u201ccurious notion\u201d of white supremacy that suggests that only whites are the rightful owners of the U.S. \u201cThe way to confront them (white nationalists) is with the real American ideal\u201d upon which the country was founded. \u201cThe U.S. has stood for justice and equality. We have to remind America of this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The discussion about nationalism in the U.S. and elsewhere continued in Intro to Peace Studies class. Gandhi said that nationalism in the U.S. means \u201dreclaiming\u201d of the country for whites; and in India, \u201creclaiming\u201d the country for Hindus, despite Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s lifelong struggle trying to build bridges between Hindus and other religions. Prof. Gandhi also answered a question about the viability of non-violent approaches to peace. While he acknowledged that these tactics haven\u2019t always worked, he said it is an unassailable fact that \u201cviolence hasn\u2019t brought peace.\u201d Gandhi further defended non-violence with the logic that violence begets violence, leaving non-violence as the only viable option.<\/p>\n

In both of his classroom stops at Park, Prof. Gandhi discussed the current crisis in Kashmir, where 2,000 people have been arrested, the internet and phone service shut off, and over 400,000 Indian troops are deployed. He mentioned-repeatedly-that the recent Indian government decision to strip Kashmir of its special limited sovereignty status was made \u201cwithout consulting even one Kashmiri.\u201d He firmly believes in the right of self-determination for Kashmiris, a right he said has been trampled by the current Indian government. Park University students were thrilled to meet and be inspired by Prof. Gandhi. \u201cI was impressed by the transmission of calmness and knowledge when he talks,\u201d said Marcelo Aquino. International student from India Aadarash Chandan noted, \u201cHis views about the events are realistic, practical, and yet polite. His audacity is unmatched.\u201d Destiny Webb spoke for many students when she commented, \u201cHe gave good advice and a better outlook on a non-violent society. His words were extremely wise.\u201d Finally, Nathan Moore said, \u201cHis views and thoughts on peace were very informative and got me to thinking about peace in my community.\u201d<\/p>\n

I know I speak for my students when I say we were truly honored by his presence and his wisdom.<\/p>\n

________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Steven Youngblood is the founding director of the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University in Parkville, Missouri USA, where he is a communications professor. He has organized and taught peace journalism seminars and workshops in 27 countries\/regions. Youngblood is a two-time J. William Fulbright Scholar (Moldova 2001, Azerbaijan 2007). He also was named U.S. State Department Senior Subject Specialist in Ethiopia in 2018. Youngblood is the author of <\/em>Peace Journalism: Principles and Practices and<\/em> Professor Komagum (2013). He edits <\/em>The Peace Journalist magazine, and writes and produces the <\/em>Peace Journalism Insights blog. He has been recognized for his contributions to world peace by the U.S. State Department, Rotary International, and the UN Association of Kansas City.<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally posted on <\/em>The Peace Journalist magazine, published by the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University (Parkville, MO USA). For back issues of the magazine, see: https:\/\/www.park.edu\/academics\/explore-majors-programs\/peace-studies-minor\/center-global-peace-journalism-2\/peace-journalist\/<\/a>\u00a0.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

6 Feb 2020 – When asked to describe Mahatma Gandhi, most would say he was an Indian independence leader, human rights defender, and spiritual guide. However, \u201cPeople don\u2019t think of him as a journalist\u201d even though \u201che was a journalist from an early age, and died as a journalist.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":116624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[524,378,234,688],"class_list":["post-153414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tms-peace-journalism","tag-gandhi","tag-journalism","tag-media","tag-peace-journalism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}