"It's a great privilege to have Gandhi speak to our community," said Dr. David Twining, associate professor of history and First-Year Studies Program coordinator at Westminster College.  "The 20th Century was the most violent in world history, and Mahatma Gandhi, Arun's grandfather, stands in shining contrast to those infamous leaders who used war and genocide to achieve their ends.  Arun Gandhi continues the great tradition of nonviolent resistance and peacemaking that began with his grandfather and was inherited by Martin Luther King and others throughout the world."

Growing up in apartheid South Africa as a person of Indian heritage, Gandhi was faced with racial confrontations from both blacks and whites.  As a 12-year-old boy, he turned to bodybuilding to avenge his beatings from other youths, but his parents decided that a visit to his grandfather in India was a better idea.  It was this 18-month visit that gave him the keys to the powerful philosophy of nonviolence, and helped to shape the rest of his life.

After leading successful projects for economic and social reform in Indian, Gandhi brought his cross-cultural experiences to the United States in 1988, and researched a comparative study on racism in America.  In 1991, he and his wife, Sunanda, founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence to foster nonviolence and put that philosophy to practical use through workshops, lectures, and community outreach programs.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Westminster College First-Year Program, with support from The Diversity Symposium, The Peace Studies Program, Student Affairs Office and the Development Office.  The program is part of the month-long diversity celebration at Westminster.

For more information, contact Twining at (724) 946-7249 or e-mail twinindc@westminster.edu.