Gandhi Today: The Story of Mahatma Gandhi's Successors - Softcover

Shepard, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0932020518 ISBN 13: 9780932020512

Publisher: Seven Locks Press, 1987

Synopsis

A TOP 10 KINDLE BESTSELLER IN INDIA (JULY 2015)

What became of the Gandhian tradition in India following the death of Mahatma Gandhi? Did it quietly die away? Or were there still Indians who believed in his philosophy and methods, committed to continuing his work?

These were the questions that sent independent journalist Mark Shepard to India in 1978-79. There he found that the tradition begun by Gandhi was very much alive, in such individuals, groups, and movements as:

-- An acclaimed saint who collected over four million acres in gifts of land for the poor.

-- A leader of a nationwide protest movement that helped topple India's ruling party in the mid-1970s.

-- A Peace Army that fought riots with nonviolence.

-- A "Hug the Trees!" movement that physically blocked excessive logging in the Himalayas.

-- A People's Court that even tried cases of murder and government corruption.

-- A development center helping 400 villages rise from poverty.

-- A nationwide movement of villages in which all land was held in common and decisions were made by unanimous consent.

Learn about all these and more in this engaging report on the legacy of the twentieth century's greatest peacemaker and revolutionary.

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Mark Shepard is the author of "Mahatma Gandhi and His Myths," "The Community of the Ark," and "Gandhi Today," called by the American Library Association's Booklist "a masterpiece of committed reporting." His writings on social alternatives have appeared in over 30 publications in the United States, Canada, England, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan, and India.

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"A masterpiece of committed reporting. . . . History that needs to be better known, told in clear, compelling, common language." -- American Library Association Booklist, Feb. 1, 1987 (starred review)

"Shepard has done a marvelous job describing individuals and groups keeping the spirit of Gandhi alive in India and throughout the world. His book presents living proof the ideals of the Mahatma will never die." -- Cesar Chavez, founder and President, United Farm Workers of America

"This lively book fills a critical gap in our understanding of Gandhi's way. . . . A source of hope and inspiration." -- Joanna Macy, author/activist

"A remarkable job of introducing the contemporary Gandhian movement -- readable, honest, challenging." -- Jim Forest, General Secretary, International Fellowship of Reconciliation

"A fascinating study. . . . As useful as it is encouraging." -- Michael Nagler, founder, Peace and Conflict Studies Program, University of California at Berkeley, and author, America Without Violence

"A fast-moving account of a living tradition. . . . Full of good ideas for peacemakers." -- Virginia Baron, Editor, Fellowship

"The author is a committed partisan of Gandhian thought and methods, but he is also a reporter who makes a case that Gandhi is an important figure who keeps on marching. . . . Among [the successful experiments he visited] are some remarkable ones." -- United Press International (UPI), Jan. 18, 1988

"Highly recommended. . . . Will provide encouragement and inspiration to those working for a better world." -- Peace Magazine (Canada), Dec. 1987-Jan. 1988

"Finally there is a small, readable book on the Gandhian legacy. . . . Encouraging and positive." -- Thomas Weber, Legal Studies, La Trobe University (Australia)

"May prove to be the most important book of 1987." -- Green Letter, Spring 1987

About this title

About the Author

See above.

From the Inside Flap

MARK SHEPARD'S BOOKS ON GANDHI, NONVIOLENCE, AND SIMPLE LIVING

MAHATMA GANDHI AND HIS MYTHS: Civil Disobedience, Nonviolence, and Satyagraha in the Real World (Plus Why It's 'Gandhi,' Not 'Ghandi'). Mahatma Gandhi is one of the least understood figures of all time -- even among his admirers. In this Annual Gandhi Lecture for the International Association of Gandhian Studies, Mark tackles some persistently wrong-headed views of Gandhi, offering us a more accurate picture of the man and his nonviolence.

GANDHI TODAY: A Report on India's Gandhi Movement and Its Experiments in Nonviolence and Small Scale Alternatives. What became of the Gandhian tradition in India following the death of Mahatma Gandhi? Did it quietly die away? Or were there still Indians who believed in his philosophy and methods, committed to continuing his work? These were the questions that sent Mark to India in 1978-79, where he found that the tradition begun by Gandhi was very much alive.

THE COMMUNITY OF THE ARK: A Visit with Lanza del Vasto, His Fellow Disciples of Mahatma Gandhi, and Their Utopian Community in France. France's Community of the Ark is one of the past century's most successful experiments in utopian living. Founded by Lanza del Vasto, a Christian disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, it offers an inspiring model for a nonviolent society. Mark shared the life of this remarkable community for six weeks in 1979 and reported on what he found.

SIMPLE SOURDOUGH: Make Your Own Starter Without Store-Bought Yeast and Bake the Best Bread in the World With This Simplest of Recipes for Making Sourdough (or Sour Dough). This booklet tells how to make the best bread in the world. And it's made from only wheat, water, and salt! You'll love this tasty, wholesome, easy-to-make bread from a tradition thousands of years old.

GANDHI THROUGH A CHILD'S EYES: An Intimate Memoir. "Gandhi was father to the ashram, leader of the nation, Mahatma to the common Indian. But, to us children, he was above all simply a friend." So says Narayan Desai in this memoir edited by Mark. Son of Gandhi's chief secretary -- and today a major figure in the worldwide nonviolence movement -- Desai spent his first twenty years in Gandhi's ashrams. Drawing on this rich background, he offers a rare, intimate, and revealing portrait of Gandhi and the people around him.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

What had become of the Gandhian tradition in India? Had it quietly died away? What about the "army" of constructive workers Gandhi sent to the villages?

Were there still Indians who believed in his philosophy and methods, committed to finishing the work he began?

If so, what were they doing now?

I was inspired to seek answers to these questions when, in late 1977 in San Francisco, I met a modern-day Gandhian named K. Krishnan Nair.

"The Indian revolution has two aspects," Nair told me. "The first phase we have achieved -- that is, liberating our country from foreign domination. The second phase is the complete restructuring of our society.

"Until we complete this work, we'll not be sitting quiet."

Nair urged me to come to India to see for myself the current work of the Gandhians. Taking up this challenge, I traveled to India in October 1978, to spend the next five months visiting and living with Gandhians, learning about their projects, their ideas, their lives.

I found that the tradition begun by Gandhi is very much alive. In fact, it has grown much since Gandhi's time, with new faces, new issues, new ideas, new techniques, new failures, and new successes. Though in some ways it may have fallen back from the standard Gandhi set, in other ways it has gone beyond him.

I offer what I found, in the hope that others too may discover in it signposts along the road to a more just and peaceful society -- a society for the welfare of all.

Edition details

• Publisher: Seven Locks Press
• Publication date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0932020518
• ISBN 13: 9780932020512
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160