Anun Manilal Gandhi at Augustana College -- November 14.
Monday, November 14, 7 p.m.
Augustana College's Centennial Hall, 3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
A noted socio-political activist, journalist, author, philanthropist, motivational speaker, and grandson of perhaps the most influential peace activist of the 20th century, Anun Manilal Gandhi will speak in Augustana College's Centennial Hall as the first presenter in the college's new Global Lecture Series, the November 14 event finding Anun sharing his grandfather Mahatma's message of the transformational power of channeling anger into an agent for good.
Born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, to Manilal Gandhi and Sushila Mashruwala, Arun had seen his grandfather Mahatma Gandhi once briefly at age five, and didn't see him again until 1946, when he lived with Mahatma at the Sevagram ashram in India. Arun returned to South Africa in 1948 just weeks before his grandfather was assassinated by Nathuram Godse in the garden of the Birla house mansion. While living at Sevagram, Arun had the advantage of education over the illiterate farm families who worked the surrounding fields. His grandfather urged him to play with the neighboring children after school in order to "learn what it was like to live in poverty," as well as to teach those children what he learned in class each day, which Arun later described as "the most creative and enlightening experience for me." Eventually, crowds of children and their parents started showing up for lessons with the young Gandhi, which taught him compassion and the need to share.
Arun Gandhi, who will sign copies of his books The Gift of Anger: And Other Lessons from My Grandfather Mahatma Gandhi (2015) and The Gift: Ten Spiritual Lessons for the Modern World from my Grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi (2018) after his November 14 presentation, finds his visit coinciding with International Education Week, during which Augustana celebrates its commitment to serving international students and preparing all students to make an impact in a global society. “We are honored that the inaugural lecture in this new series will feature Arun Gandhi, who has been steadfast in efforts to preserve and extend the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi,” said Xong Sony Yang, director of International Student and Scholar Services. “His message of non-violence remains as relevant and important now as ever, and we look forward to sharing this message with the campus community and the Quad-Cities community.”
Yang is also pleased to see her dream of a global lecture series get its roots at Augustana, with the series bringing notable scholars and guest speakers to the campus to discuss a variety of global topics. Says Yang, “The lecture series aims to support students and community members to develop global awareness and broaden their perspective of the world, developments and opportunities."
Anun Manilal Gandhi will speak in Augustana College's Centennial Hall at 7 p.m. on November 14, the event is free to attend, and more information is available by calling (309)794-7645 and visiting Augustana.edu.
