About the Book
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an eminent freedom activist and an influential political leader who also played a dominant role in India’s struggle for independence. The 150th birth centennial celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi are a time for reflection on his life and works. Reflections on Mahatma Gandhi: The Global Perspectives is an outcome of the book project commemorated to the life and works of Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary.
Gandhi is one of the great minds of global peace and non-violence and is also subjected to radical criticism. Being an advocate of basic human rights, he was the most influential figure and advocate of non-violence, and this scholarship has been universally confirmed for its success of non-violence as a method and strategy for resistance.
In this interdisciplinary collection, scholarly articles are assembled that revisit the body of Gandhian works. This collection exhibits a significant variety in the analytical skills and frameworks employed in each and demonstrates the incredible reach and breadth of Gandhi's significance. These contemporary concerns result in a reviewing of already existing themes and preoccupations as well as helping to chart a path forward.
Contents
1 Gandhian Approach: A Pathway to Resolve the Contradictions of Globalization / Devarchan Banerjee
2 Religion as a Homespun Shawl to the Needy: Re-visiting Moral, Spiritual, and the Humanitarian Dimension of Religion from a Bhakti-centric Perspective of the Mahatma / Archana Barua
3 Basaveswara and Mahatma Gandhi: A Comparative Study of their Ideas / Basavaraj Naikar
4 Satyagraha and the Ethics of Responsibility / Terry Beitzel
5 Ahimsa and Gandhian Ecology: A Multicultural Paradigm of Non-violence Towards Nature / Tom Berendt
6 Gandhi’s Self-purification and Poorna Swaraj / Biplove Kumar
7 The Cinematic Portrayal of the Apprenticeship of ‘Mahatma’ in South Africa in Shyam Benegal’s The Making of the Mahatma / Chandrakant Langare
8 The Gandhian Idea of Conflict Transformation: Examining the Relevance to the United Nations’ Engagement / Yeshi Choedon
9 Incorporating Ahimsa into India’s Constitutional Morality / Swaha Das and Hari Nair
10 Understanding Gandhi for the Contemporary World* / Gita Dharampal
11 Close Encounters of an Imperial Kind: Gandhi, Gender, and Anti-colonialism1 / Karen Gabriel
12 Gandhi and the Jews / Barry L. Gan
13 Gandhian Theory of International Politics / Anurag Gangal
14 Toward a Non-violent World Order: Gandhi’s Light to the World / Robert L. Holmes
15 Personal Asceticism and Political Activism, Spiritual Cravings, and Social Movements: The Stupendous Muddle of Gandhi’s Theory and Practice of Brahmacharya / Prakash Joshi
16 Decoding Gandhian Studies: The Odishan Sources of Gandhi’s Ideas / Kamalakanta Roul
17 Nai Talim in the Context of Discrete Educational Experiments in India / Tripti Karekatti
18 The Subversion of the Colonial System of Humiliation: A Case Study of the Gandhian Strategy / Rina Kashyap
19 The Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi in the Nehruvian Foreign Policy of India: A Retrospective Analysis / Sourav Naskar
20 Empowering the Oppressed: A Gandhian Approach to Mahasweta Devi’s Aajir / Natasha Vashisht
21 Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore: Synchronous Philosophy and Dichotomy in Experiment / Pravat Kumar Padhy
22 Gandhi and the Bhagavad Gita: A Derivative Discourse on Non-violence, Karmayoga, Varnashram Dharma, and Moksha / Ramchandra Pradhan
23 Gandhi and Communal Harmony / Ram Puniyani
24 Gandhian Vision of Self-Reliance in Traditional and Village Industries Sector: Insights from Two Cases in Assam / Ratna Bhuyan and Santanu M. Deka
25 Gandhi and Thanthai Periyar: Believer and Non-believer Par Excellence / V. Sangeetha
26 The Efficacy of Non-violence in Present Context / Manish Sharma
27 Gandhi on Society, Swaraj, and Democracy / Shilpa Shaw
28 The Making of Mahatma: Unravelling the Mystery of Bapu’s Talisman / Vilas Shinde
29 Understanding Gandhian Trusteeship in the Light of Industry and CSR / Harish K. Thakur
30 Satyagraha as a Gandhian Method of Conflict Transformation / Vibhuti Patel
About the Author / Editor
Terry Beitzel is Director, Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence and Professor, Department of Justice Studies, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Peace Research. His research subjects include non-violence, transitional and restorative justice, conflict and peace studies, social and political theory, Gandhian studies, and civil resistance. He earned a master’s degree in the history of science from Harvard University and a doctorate in conflict analysis and conflict resolution from George Mason University. Prior to JMU, he taught at Bridgewater College and Eastern Mennonite University in the peace and justice program, and served as a research assistant for the International Criminal Court. He authored an extensive and wide-ranging series of publications and conference presentations. His scholarship explored the transitions from violent conflict; contemporary and novel approaches to furthering justice; and the role of non-violence, responsibility, civic engagement in the lives of individuals and societies. The high quality of his work and his passion for cross-cultural community building led to collaborations in Guinea, India, Kenya and Kosovo. His recent book is Service: The Path to Justice. Email: beitzetd@jmu.edu
Chandrakant Langare is Associate Professor of English at Shivaji University, Kolhapur. He has published widely in reputed journals and books. He has edited a book on the fictional works of Joseph Conrad. He has worked as a resource person, delivered lectures, and been invited to talks on Literature, Culture and Film Studies at national and international seminars and University Grants Commission (UGC)/HRD-sponsored refresher courses organized by premier universities and higher education institutes in India. He has presented papers on literary and cultural studies at the international conferences held in premier universities of Italy, the USA, and England. Email: dr.langare@gmail.com
