Thursday, January 12, 2006

Newsletter No. 10, January - March 2006


Peter Rühe
Dear Reader,
The year 2006 has just arrived and we're already planning for 2008: the 60th anniversary of Gandhi's assassination, which will fall upon 30th January 2008. Multimedia Gandhi Festivals will be organized in various countries to commemorate the event and to celebrate the relevance of Gandhi's life and work to the 21st century. To us, the application of love, truth and nonviolence - as preached and practised by Mahatma Gandhi - will ultimately lead to a more peaceful and humane world. Therefore, the thorough study of his thoughts and deeds, according to Gandhi's saying My Life is My Message, is more important than ever before.

Volunteers wanted for youth project
For our international youth project The Gandhi Bridge of Understanding we're in search for volunteers to contact their local educational institutions in order to inspire them to participate in the project. They can borrow and exhibit actual pictures of the annual drawing competition Mahatma Gandhi - As I See Him, that is carried out by our partner schools in India annually. Youth of the same age can be invited to exchange views about the project, cultures, art, and families with the young Indian artist by email or snail mail. The aim of The Gandhi Bridge Of Understanding is to overcome religious and cultural prejudices, and to help further understanding of one's own, as well as other cultures.
More: http://www.gandhiserve.org/activities/gandhi_bridge/gandhi_bridge.html

2000 documents of Gandhi's correspondence uploaded
Over 2000 documents of Mahatma Gandhi's personal correspondence have been scanned and uploaded to our online image archive. The correspondence mainly consists of letters, postcards and telegrams of Europeans to Gandhi, and his replies. They brilliantly document the relationship Gandhi shared with eminent personalities as well as common men and women from Europe. The correspondence also includes letters by and to Count Leo Tolstoy, Romain Rolland, Madeleine Slade (Miraben), Bart de Ligt, and Muriel Lester.
More: http://www.gandhiserve.org/cgi-bin/if2/imageFolio.cgi?direct=Correspondence

Come to know latest news by Mahatma Gandhi News Digest
Daily we check over 5000 online sources for news relating to Mahatma Gandhi using various web alerts and newsfeeds. The three most relevant news are then presented in the Mahatma Gandhi News Digest right in the centre of our website's index page. Check out our news digest daily and come to know the latest events and happenings relating to Gandhi, peace and nonviolence - hand-picked and up-to-date! Those who missed news can find them in the News Digest Archive.
More: http://www.gandhiserve.org/news/news_archive.html

Did you know?
> Now the index page of our website is also available in Esperanto language.
More: http://www.gandhiserve.org/espindex.html
> Our website consists of over 2000 pages which you can access on one page - the site map!
More: http://streams.gandhiserve.org/sitemap.html

Gandhian news from around the World
> Mahatma Muse
> Reliance Celebrates The Mahatma
> Music of the Mahatma
> Education can cultivate peace rather than discord; Amartya Sen
> Shekhar Kapur plays Gandhi
> Learn from mistakes, be a Mahatma: Ela Gandhi
> Ahmedabad restaurant serves customers gratis
> The Mahatma's Mauritian admirers
> Report Back on Memphis Gandhian Conference on Non-Violence 2005
> Heads prefer Gandhi to Churchill
> Why Gandhi can still help us give peace a chance

May Peace Prevail on Earth!

Signature Peter Rühe


Peter Rühe
Founder - Chairperson
GandhiServe Foundation

Friday, October 14, 2005

Newsletter No. 9, October - December 2005


Peter Rühe
Dear Reader,

Mahatma Gandhi's 136th birth anniversary - Gandhi Jayanti - has been celebrated on 2nd October the world over with exhibitions, lectures, a conference and cultural programmes. Due to efficient networking and intelligient use of modern communication technologies probably more quality programmes were organised than ever before. It's a ray of hope to see that the younger generation takes serious interest in satya aur ahimsa - truth and nonviolence - as a counter force to the violence we're all confronted with on various levels in daily life. Find texts, pictures and videos of the Gandhi Jayanti programme at Berlin here:
http://www.gandhiserve.org/activities/events/events_2005.html

Complete audio library online
Another step to digitise and publish our vast archive has been completed: the audio library consisting of nearly 100 hours of Gandhi-related records and tapes, radio programmes, events and speeches are available on our website now. The archive includes rare recordings such as the programmes of the illegal Indian Underground Radio of 1942 - also known as Congress Radio - as well as interviews with relatives and associates of Mahatma Gandhi.
More: http://streams.gandhiserve.org/audio_library.html

Oil paintings on peace and nonviolence available
In our web store we now offer genuine oil paintings on peace and nonviolence. These are hand painted works by senior art painter Moka Das and reproductions of photographs by him. All works use original English oil paint and are painted on real canvas. Order works are welcome for oil on canvas, water color, pencil and crayon.
More: http://paintings.gandhiserve.org

Post views and publish works on GandhiServe Foundation's weblog
The visitors of our website can now post their views on Gandhi or our work on a weblog. You're encouraged to comment on our newsletter and share information and your views on Gandhi or related events. You may also publish short works on Gandhi's life and work, respectively the ethics of nonviolence on the blog and thus share it with currently 2000+ visitors daily!
More: http://gandhiserve.blogspot.com

Webpage in Chinese language
Our friend Xuan Guo has programmed a Chinese version of the index page of our website which enables us to cater to the growing demand for authentic information on Gandhi's life and work in China. It's encouraging to see that China also takes interest in permanent values as represented and promoted by Mahatma Gandhi.
More: http://www.gandhiserve.org/chindex.gb2312.html

Download Gandhi Calendar 2006
The Gandhi Calendar 2006 is available for download at
http://www.gandhiserve.org/information/gandhi_calendar/gandhi_calendar.html

Gandhian news from around the World
> Peace campaigners get Gandhi award
> e-Gandhi: the soul digitised
> Exploring M K Gandhi: theater play Sammy!
> Did Bapu ride this bicycle?
> Gandhi voted world's 2nd greatest leader
> How an interview with Gandhi was spiked
> US Gandhi Foundation plans a special Gandhi center in Atlanta
> His wish fulfilled, Bapu finally travels to China
> A village that still lives by Gandhi's words
> Gandhi goes to the movies

May Peace Prevail on Earth!

Signature Peter Rühe


Peter Rühe

Founder - Chairperson
GandhiServe Foundation

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Newsletter No. 8, July - September 2005



Peter RüheDear Reader,
In the last issue of our newsletter we encouraged you to raise your voice against the further distribution of the revised edition of the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, as this edition carries a number of errors and omissions. Protest letters sent by you and several other students and scholars of Gandhian thoughts, activists and institutions, led to an immediate stop of the sale of the current version. We're extremely glad that - thanks to the protest of many concerned people and organizations from allover - the Indian Government set up a committee of experts, and follows its advice to reprint the original version. Thank you for your solidarity!
More: http://www.gandhiserve.org/cwmg/cwmg_controversy.html

Oral History on India's Independence Movement
After an initial round of interviews in February and March where we video-recorded talks with participants in India's freedom struggle we now have uploaded photographs, audio and video clips as well as summaries of eleven selected interviews.
More: http://www.gandhiserve.org/activities/research/oral_history.html

Exhibition Satyagraha - In Pursuit of Truth available for loan
The new poster exhibition Satyagraha - In Pursuit of Truth documents Gandhi's South African period and is available for loan now. The exhibit was prepared by the editorial board of the Durban-based magazine Satyagraha - In Pursuit of Truth with support of the Ford Foundation.
More: Satyagraha - In Pursuit of Truth'; return true" onMouseOut="window.status=' '">http://www.gandhiserve.org/arts/exhibitions/satyagraha/satyagraha.html

International youth project The Gandhi Bridge of Understanding
The pictures of this years drawing competition Mahatma Gandhi - As I See Him are online now. The painting events were held in various schools in India and form part of our international youth project The Gandhi Bridge of Understanding. The pictures can be viewed at
http://www.gandhiserve.org/cgi-bin/if/imageFolio.cgi?direct=Art/Paintings/Mahatma_Gandhi_-_As_I_See_Him/2005

Events in Summer/Fall 2005
  • 6 July - 23 October: Exhibition The World's Most Photographed at National Portrait Gallery, London/UK.
    More: The Worlds Most Photographed'; return true" onMouseOut="window.status=' '">http://www.npg.org.uk/live/wowmp.asp
  • 31 August, 19:00 GMT: BBC2 broadcasts the 30 min. documentary The World's Most Photographed: Gandhi.
  • 2 October, 18:00 CET: Festival programme on the occassion of Mahatma Gandhi's 136th birth anniversary
    > Gandhi photo exhibition, music programme and film presentation
    > Lecture by Mr. Yogesh H. Goda My Grandfather's Life with Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa
    The programme is held in cooperation with the Tagore Centre at the Indian Embassy.
    Venue: Embassy of the Republic of India, Tiergartenstrasse 17, 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten, Germany.
    Entrance is free. The programme is held in English language with German translation.

    Gandhian News from Around the World
    >Mahatma's monkeys on Berlin sands
    >Rediscovering Gandhi through multimedia imagery
    >Bapu with beef handi gets great-grandson's goat
    >Durban outrage forces Gandhi red light road rethink
    >Birthplace of 'satyagraha' may become World Heritage site
    >Gandhi's abode set for facelift
    >Committee to look into errors in works on Gandhi
    >For Bollywood, Mahatma Gandhi back in vogue
    >Gandhi bust to be erected at station

    May Peace Prevail on Earth!

    Signature Peter Rühe


    Peter Rühe
    Founder - Chairperson

    GandhiServe Foundation