Contemporary Relevance of Gandhian Values in Pursuit of Global Peace

Abstract In the galaxy of world leaders Mahatma Gandhi shines as Pole star depicting the symbol of non-violence, peace and truth. His stature as the most influential philosopher lies in his experimentation with truth; truth based on practicality of existing values and resources where he values human being as supreme creation of God - ‘Vaishanava Jana to’ or popularly known as ‘harijan’. He envisioned a society free from caste inequality, untouchability and founded on social justice. In recent years, a strong trend has become evident for conflict and war. To many of us, the world seems more war prone and violent space. The factual details can be recollected from war ravaged Afghanistan to rubrics of Iraq civilization. The wars in Ukraine (Europe); between India and Pakistan; Palestine and Israel indicates the misery of human civilization. These destructive wars and uncontrollable situation need not to be destination of human civilization. Gandhi being a philosopher of eminence had foreseen the genesis of war and conflict lies in human nature; this human nature has proliferating impact on social and political life. This paper studies how Gandhi’s philosophy can be used to address today’s concerns like, war and peace, terrorism, socio-political instabilities, climate change, sustainable development etc. It studies how his ideas can be thematized into many significant dimensions such as non-violence as an instrument of conflict resolution, decentralization of power, spiritualization of politics, pacifism as a viable alternative to realism, settling disputes through mediation, snthesizing local to global and espousing a doctrine of limits. Keywords: Truth; Non-violence; conflict-resolution; spiritualization of politics; pacifism