Mahatma Gandhi’s fifth grandson to visit MHCC

On Jan. 22, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson will come to Mt. Hood Community College to give a presentation on how we, as world citizens, can achieve peace in our time.

Arun Gandhi will speak at 7 p.m. in the College Theater, in an appearance open to the public and all MHCC students and staff. Admission is $5 for the public but is free for all Mt. Hood students with I.D.

If by some chance you don’t know, Mohandas Gandhi was a peaceful activist who sought to free his people from British rule through nonviolent means.

In 1893 the Mahatma, or “great soul” moved to South Africa to accept a job as a lawyer, but instead began his struggle to secure basic human rights for his people. He was arrested many times while he spent 20 years in South Africa developing his peaceful protesting methods. Because of such methods, in 1914 the British government conceded to many of Gandhi’s demands.

After his time South Africa, the Mahatma returned to India. He began protesting the Rowlatt Acts that had been used to imprison many Indians: The laws allowed arrests without warrant, indefinite detention without trial, and juryless in-camera trials for proscribed political acts. During this time, Mohandas himself was arrested and sentenced to six years, but got released after two.

After prison, Mahatma Gandhi dedicated himself to trying to fix Muslim-Hindu relations. In 1947 Pakistan and India were divided among religious boundaries into independent states. Upset by the Western-imposed partition, Mohandas fasted in hopes of bringing peace to Calcutta and Delhi.

On Jan. 30, 1948, Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi was shot in the stomach twice and the chest once by a Muslim fanatic; he died later that day.

Arun Gandhi is the fifth grandson of the Mahatma, the child of Mohandas’ second son. Growing up in South Africa during apartheid, he was beaten frequently by whites calling him “too black” and by blacks calling him “too white.” As a child he sought revenge, but his grandfather showed him another way.

His grandfather taught Arun to understand nonviolence through understanding violence. He would gain knowledge about violence and anger through his daily lessons.

Now, Arun works to share that knowledge around the world in his visits to colleges and with world leaders.

Arun will begin his visit to MHCC by having a meet-and-greet at 4 p.m. with students and anyone else in the Student Union. At 5 p.m., he will depart to dine with college administrators and other Mt. Hood supporters for the next hour and a half. Following a half-hour break, he will give his College Theater presentation at 7 p.m.

To order tickets in advance, visit mhcc.edu/ArunGandhi/.