Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Fresno State cannot be compared to a confederate monument

Statues and monuments have come under scrutiny across the United States following the tragic death of George Floyd. In our Central Valley, an online petition has placed Mahatma Gandhi — a man who inspired world-wide nonviolent revolutions against colonialism, slavery, apartheid, and violence — in the middle of a debate.

The petition calls for the removal of Gandhi’s statue from Fresno State’s Peace Garden. The Garden includes three other statues of peace leaders: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez and Jane Addams. These three individuals, along with diverse figures such as Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Dorothy Day, Desmond Tutu, and the Dalai Lama have held Gandhi in high regard for his contributions to equality, justice, and peace.

Then, how can Gandhi be accused of the racism attributed to Confederate leaders? These moments of reckoning provide us with an important opportunity to educate ourselves about the history and possibilities of self-transformation.

Thousands of pages of Gandhi’s own writings and scholarly commentaries reveal an ever-evolving man who sought to purge himself from deep colonial tendencies and to stand up against the same structures.

Gandhi from youth had been conditioned by his British colonizers to internalize divisive rhetoric, which considered Europeans superiors to Indians, and Indians superior to native South Africans. In his 20s, as a freshly London-trained lawyer, Gandhi shared prejudices against South Africans. Gandhi also addressed them with the common term “Kaffir” on various occasions. According to historian Viany Lal, the offensiveness of this term can be traced to the mid-twentieth century, decades after Gandhi left South Africa.

Arriving in South Africa in 1893, Gandhi was shocked to be pushed off a train by a white police constable because he was “colored” sitting in a first-class seat. Thereafter, Gandhi began organizing the Indian community to confront South Africa’s unjust, racist laws.

Those who compare Gandhi with Confederate leaders based on select, out-of-context quotes must also consider his actions. He assembled a team of Indians to give medical assistance to Black Africans left to die in the Zulu War (1906). Gandhi himself nursed suffering Black African war victims for many days and nights, which inspired him to dedicate himself to fighting racist laws for the remainder of his life. Eventually, Gandhi’s methods of nonviolence influenced South Africa’s struggle against apartheid.

Returning to India, Gandhi mobilized the masses to secure freedom from British rule, using active nonviolence to resist social injustice and prejudice. He sought to create interreligious harmony amongst Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, and others. He also fought to end untouchability and gender inequality.

Gandhi foundationally influenced movements all over the world to secure justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. studied Gandhi’s methods of nonviolent direct action, and remarked in 1959, “If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable.” Gandhi’s nonviolent direct action drew African-American leaders’ attention in the 1920s.

In 1936, a delegation of African Americans visited Gandhi’s ashram in India. As they were departing India, Gandhi foretold that through African Americans “the unadulterated message of non-violence will be delivered to the world.” Contemporary Black civil rights leaders, including the Rev. James Lawson and congressman John Lewis, attest to the deep connection between Gandhi’s philosophy and the U.S. civil rights campaigns.

In our own San Joaquin Valley, Cesar Chavez revered Gandhi’s living example. He adopted Gandhian tactics of marching, fasting, and nonviolent protesting. With Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the United Farm Workers to improve the conditions and restore the dignity of field workers.

Singling out a few statements from Gandhi’s very early life, when he was still in the thralls of British colonial propagandizing, utterly distorts Gandhi’s life-long nonviolent struggle for equality for all. South African leader Nelson Mandela, who admired Gandhi, wrote in 1995, “Gandhi must be forgiven those prejudices and judged in the context of the time and circumstances. We are looking here at the young Gandhi, still to become the Mahatma…”

Gandhi said, “My life is my message.” When we review his works in their totality, we see an individual who transformed himself out of his colonial upbringing. Isn’t this the call for our current time?

Gandhi has continued to guide the path to human freedom and social justice to countless others. The Peace Garden at Fresno State — with its exemplary honorees — serves as an opportunity for self-reflection and learning about the human struggle for justice, equality, and unity.