Mahatma Gandhi’s Grandson Arun Gandhi Passes Away At 89

Arun Manilal Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, and author, died on Tuesday at the age of 89 after a brief illness.

The author and activist’s funeral will betake place in Kolhapur later today, according to his son and author Tushar Gandhi.

Arun Manilal Gandhi was born in Durban, South Africa, on April 14, 1934, to Manilal Gandhi and Sushila Mashruwala.

Mr. Gandhi was married to Sunanda, a nurse, in 1957, and she died in 2007.

Tushar Gandhi and Archana are their two children. Sunanda and Arun moved to Canada in 1987 and established the MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence at the Christian Brothers University in Memphis in 1991.

In 1997, the pair embarked on the Gandhi Legacy Tour of India. Arun created two additional tour itineraries: the Gandhi Lifescapes Tour of India and the Gandhi Satyagraha Tour of India.

In 2013, Arun Gandhi was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World Religions.

While Mahatma Gandhi’s fifth grandson considered himself to be a Hindu, he held universalist views. He has worked closely with Christian priests and his philosophy had Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, and Christian influences. He also believed in the principle of non-violence or ahimsa just like his freedom fighter grandfather.

Arun wrote several books, including A Patch of White and Legacy of Love: My Education on the Path of Nonviolence, as well as two works on poverty and politics.

(With input from PTI)

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