Mahatma Gandhi quotes ("separate realities")

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated ... I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man."
 
cleanbluesky said:
Welcome and thank you for a refreshing breach of etiquette...
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Ooops just realised ive started this thread in the wrong forum can an Admin kindly move it to 'General Discussion', thanks.
 
Ghandi was also a racist against the idigenous black people of South Africa during his time there, and proponent of the segretative caste system within his homeland;

"Why, of all places in Johannesburg, the Indian location should be chosen for dumping down all kaffirs of the town, passes my comprehension.

Of course, under my suggestion, the Town Council must withdraw the Kaffirs from the Location. About this mixing of the Kaffirs with the Indians I must confess I feel most strongly. I think it is very unfair to the Indian population, and it is an undue tax on even the proverbial patience of my countrymen."

I'm not saying he was bad per se, just there is an interesting other side to him that is little talked about.
 
"Ours is one continued struggle against degradation sought to be inflicted upon us by the European, who desire to degrade us to the level of the raw kaffir, whose occupation is hunting and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with, and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness."
 
and proponent of the segretative caste system within his homeland;
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He was totally against it. From wikipedia last paragraph. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_caste_system
The inclusion of lower castes into the mainstream was argued for by Mahatma Gandhi who called them "Harijans" (people of God).
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He deliberately created the Word Harijan in his day in trying to empower them, however today its deemed to be patronising.

Futher down the paragraph:
tried hard to bring untouchables into the mainstream of society and get the other castes to discard the practice of untouchability.
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"Why, of all places in Johannesburg, the Indian location should be chosen for dumping down all kaffirs of the town, passes my comprehension.

Of course, under my suggestion, the Town Council must withdraw the Kaffirs from the Location. About this mixing of the Kaffirs with the Indians I must confess I feel most strongly. I think it is very unfair to the Indian population, and it is an undue tax on even the proverbial patience of my countrymen."
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I need to research this but could well be true since he spent his early years in SA. His enlightenment years came much later in his life, in fact when he was an old man. He did go through a phase of profound change. He abandoned common cultural dogma and brought about many reforms. Martin Luther King happened to be one of his greatest admirers. Heres a quote from Encarta(last paragraph). http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557424/Martin_Luther_King.html#p22
In 1959 King visited India and worked out more clearly his understanding of Gandhi's principle of nonviolent persuasion
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Originally Posted by Gandhi
I do not consider Hitler to be as bad as he is depicted. He is showing an ability that is amazing and seems to be gaining his victories without much bloodshed.
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Not the only one to get Hitler wrong:
Winston Churchill, in his book Great Contemporaries (1937) had declared: "One may dislike Hitler’s system and yet admire his patriotic achievement. If our country were defeated, I hope we should find a champion as admirable to restore our courage and lead us back to our place among the nations."
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