The documentary has been written and directed by Ramesh Sharma.

AVAILABLE FOR SCREENING – STUDENT AND COMMUNITY ACTIVIST

GROUPS WORLDWIDE ARE ENCOURAGED TO INQUIRE VIA AHIMSA PEACE INSTITUTE

AHIMSA GANDHI: THE POWER OF THE POWERLESS

INTERVIEWS WITH WORLD RENOWNED SCHOLARS, BIOGRAPHERS, AS WELL AS

CLOSE FAMILY MEMBERS OF MAHATMA GANDHI AND NOBEL LAUREATES INCLUDING

THE DALAI LAMA AND FORMER POLISH PRESIDENT LECH WALESA

FILM PRODUCED TO COMMEMORATE THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF INDIAN LAWYER,

CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, AND NON-VIOLENT REVOLUTION LEADER MOHANDAS K. GANDHI

‘Ahimsa’ is the principle of non-violence.

Mohandas Gandhi, long the subject of numerous books, films, and publications spanning decades and all of them underscoring the incredible-but-true life of a Mahatma. After Gandhi swept the Oscars in 1983, a documentary on the peace and freedom champion’s life has now been awarded top honors at numerus film festivals worldwide, including United Nations Celebration of Peace Award; Best Documentary Feature Award at the 21st New York Indian Festival; and the 2022 Orlando Florida Global Peace Film Festival, among others. (Read more…)

The documentary has been written and directed by Ramesh Sharma.

AHIMSA – GANDHI: The Power of the Powerless narrates the impact of the Gandhian message of Non-Violence worldwide; how it inspired Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in USA, the Solidarity Movement in Poland, The Velvet Revolution of Havel, and the Anti – Apartheid strife in South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s fight against injustice, oppression, racism, and his struggle to restore basic human rights and dignity for the colored citizens of his country.

In short, the film decodes the power of Non-Violence and why it remains relevant to this day. Interviews with world renowned scholars, biographers, as well as close family members of Mahatma Gandhi and Nobel Laureates such as His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama, Former Polish President Lech Walesa, iconic Civil Right activists such as Congressman John Lewis and Rev James Lawson, this feature documentary, weaves rare archival footage, photographs, inspirational songs, to put together a compelling and powerful narrative of the impact of Ahimsa – Non Violence in some of the seminal political movements of the 20th century and its continuing relevance for contemporary times. With a global arc as its canvas the film underscores why Ahimsa remains the most powerful tool for conflict resolution. As Martin Luther King Jr. says in the film, “The choice is no longer between Violence and Non-Violence. it is between Non-Violence and Non-Existence.”

Ramesh Films

Available for Streaming

Inquire Via Lynnea Bylund – [email protected]

Peace Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

‘HISTORIC BILL PROPOSES ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ‘U.S. DEPARTMENT OF PEACEBUILDING’

May 7, 2023, North Las Vegas, Nevada – Earlier this year, Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-12), together with 27 original co-sponsors from 15 states, introduced HR 1111.  The purpose of HR 1111 is to establish the U.S. Department of Peacebuilding (US DoP).  Similar bills, each calling for a cabinet-level Secretary of Peace, have been introduced in every session of Congress for two decades.

HR 1111 recognizes that: Peace is both a human right and a security issue; and the antithesis of peace – violence – takes many forms in current society and world affairs, from international military incursions and imperialism to local police and gun violence, to bullying, domestic violence, racism and more. The physical, emotional, monetary, and other costs of violence are enormous, cut across all sectors of society in the US and are intrinsically interrelated.

The icon of peace and non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi, famously said: “If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.”  This is true, and with the mounting dangers of war in Ukraine, with the escalating gun violence in America, all humanity are God’s children of the world and it begins with each one of us.

The US DoP legislation calls for prioritizing peace in this nation, and the world, by transforming our culture of violence into a culture of peace. This underscores a need for education, research, community building, inclusion, and reform. It means supporting programs that work and creating new programs and policies that are founded in peace.

By establishing the US DoP, we, as a nation, decisively choose to learn and apply the skills of peacebuilding and nonviolence and to work for peace; and HR 1111 become law when enough of us inform our lawmakers that this is how we want our elected officials and governmental systems to represent our values and priorities going forward.

Call to Action –

HR 1111.

Join The Peace Alliance 

Review the Department of Peacebuilding Overview.

Ask your member of Congress to Co-sponsor the Department of Peacebuilding.

List of | Department of Peacebuilding | City | County | Tribe | Endorsers 

Sign the Petition for a Department of Peacebuilding.

Endorse the Department of Peacebuilding.

Department of Peacebuilding Endorsements.

10 – 10 – 10

For more information contact Catalyst House:

Lynnea Bylund – [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CATALYST HOUSE ANNOUNCES THE TRANSITION OF ARUN GANDHI

The 5^th Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi was known to millions worldwide for promoting his grandfather’s message of peace and for helping under-privileged children. He was 89.

NORTH LAS VEGAS NV: May 2, 2023 — Anuradha Bhosale, President of AVANI School & Residence for Children, made the sad announcement from Kolhapur India May 2, 2023.

A Tireless Warrior for Interfaith Cooperation, Peace & Social Justice

Born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, Arun Gandhi was the fifth grandson of India’s legendary leader, Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi. Growing up under the discriminatory apartheid laws of South Africa, he was beaten by “white” South Africans for being brown and by “black” South Africans for being too light. He began to beat back and that is when his parents knew it was time to travel to India so young Arun could learn directly from Mahatma Gandhi.  Arun between ages 12-14 learned from his grandfather that, “Justice does not mean revenge, it means transforming the opponent through love.” 

Grandfather Gandhi taught Arun Gandhi to understand nonviolence through understanding violence. “If we know how much passive violence we perpetrate against one another we will understand why there is so much physical violence plaguing societies and the world,” Gandhi said. Through daily lessons, Arun says, he learned about violence and about anger.

Arun Gandhi shared the lessons taught to him by his Grandfather around the world. In recent decades his speaking engagements have included addressing the United Nations General Assembly, the unveiling of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington DC, the Parliament of World Religions, Chicago Children’s Museum and the Women’s Justice Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He also delivered talks at the Young Presidents’ Organization in Mexico, the Trade Union Leaders’ Meeting in Milan, Italy, as well as the Peace and Justice Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Arun has spoken in Croatia, France, Ireland, Holland, Lithuania, Nicaragua, Brazil, China, Scotland, and Japan. He was a very popular speaker on college campuses and has spoken at, North Dakota State University, Concordia College, Baker University, Morehouse College, Marquette University, and the University of San Diego, to cite a few.

Arun was involved in social programs and writing, as well. Prior to moving to the U.S., in 1987, he worked 30 years as a journalist at the Times of India.  Arun and his late wife, Sunanda, rescued hundreds of orphaned children and placed them in loving homes around the world while living in India.  (Read more…)